Fmr LLC Buys 5,348,790 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Fmr LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 5,348,790 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.21% of Starbucks worth $2,292,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,138,442,000 after buying an additional 784,432 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,826,001 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,259,516,000 after acquiring an additional 548,245 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,868,817 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,448,030,000 after acquiring an additional 718,880 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,244,812,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,916,777 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,087,406,000 after purchasing an additional 154,093 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

Starbucks Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $82.10 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date 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.