R Squared Ltd Purchases Shares of 1,880 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,880 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter worth $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.52.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $108.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.89. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $110.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.