Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Acquires 133 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,729 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,222,931,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 115,334.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,493,639 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $842,569,000 after buying an additional 8,486,281 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,650,462,000 after purchasing an additional 8,451,599 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth about $190,270,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,125,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Starbucks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.05.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,092,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,523,658. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.19. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $89.21 and a 52 week high of $115.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.