Leelyn Smith LLC Acquires 1,912 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,295 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $678,923,000 after buying an additional 221,718 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $348,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,847 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Starbucks by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,362,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $327,771,000 after buying an additional 9,900 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after buying an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,255,967 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $317,424,000 after acquiring an additional 122,886 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other 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 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

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.