Avion Wealth Raises Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,786 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.32 and a 200 day moving average of $95.10. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $112.62.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 78.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.