Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 11,234 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,234 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Baird R W raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.81.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.10.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. 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. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

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.