State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,385 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $40,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter worth about $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $243,910,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Starbucks by 108.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $348,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324,847 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.5 %

SBUX stock traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.55. 6,118,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,867,492. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.79. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

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.