ARS Investment Partners LLC Acquires 541 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,940 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 541 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.84 and a 200 day moving average of $91.71.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

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.