Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 810 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,692 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SBUX. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $99.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.03.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

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.