Sonata Capital Group Inc. Purchases 1,100 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sonata Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,149 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $195,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Starbucks by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,401 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Starbucks by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,094 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management lifted its position in Starbucks by 3.5% during the third quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 13,001 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 10.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $112.62. The company has a market cap 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

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.