Spire Wealth Management Acquires 3,667 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,091 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 726 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Citigroup boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $107.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.48. The stock has a market cap of $122.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $110.34.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 78.71%.

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.