Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Has $2.15 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,513 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SBUX. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $112.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.93 and a 200-day moving average of $94.32. The company has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $112.62.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly 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 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.71%.

About Starbucks

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.