Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 521 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,284 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $94.43 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The firm has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.35.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.