Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Raises Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 218.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,899 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 16,385 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBUX. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $97.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during 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 business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.