Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,451 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.31.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $99.23 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $112.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.03.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.