Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.22% of Starbucks worth $248,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 498.2% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $100.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $114.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.30 and its 200 day moving average is $87.55. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32.

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 company 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 firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.