Hilltop Holdings Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 626.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,032 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,451 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,915,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 701.4% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 54,728 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 47,899 shares in the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 13.3% in the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 18,919 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 29,741 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $3,876,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBUX. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reduced their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $101.51 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.63 and a 200-day moving average of $88.10. The company has a market cap of $115.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

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.