Sierra Ocean LLC Takes Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,565 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DDD Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Starbucks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 11,152 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Copperleaf Capital LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 91.3% during the fourth quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC now owns 18,243 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 8,709 shares during the period. Finally, Nkcfo LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 37,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,408,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SBUX. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised 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 raised their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $112.55 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $98.28 and its 200 day moving average is $96.01. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $113.47. The stock has a market cap of $127.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 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.