Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 331 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,106 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $82.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.36. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Starbucks Company 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.