Quest Partners LLC Invests $115,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,179 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 498.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given 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 a consensus price target of $103.77.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents 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 Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $102.46 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

About Starbucks

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.