Chicago Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,278 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 6,149 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 61.0% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 726 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $107.68 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.48. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $110.34. The stock has a market cap of $122.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.71%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.