Avala Global LP Buys Shares of 251,500 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Avala Global LP bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 251,500 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,519,000. Starbucks makes up 1.6% of Avala Global LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,096,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,914,332 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $186,628,000 after purchasing an additional 488,979 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 4,693 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $102.46 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.10. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The firm has a market cap of $116.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

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.