IRON Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

IRON Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,157 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 968 shares during the quarter. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 18,296 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 4,694 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Starbucks by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 189,557 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $17,297,000 after purchasing an additional 50,030 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 125,107 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $11,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,413 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 9,779 shares during the period. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 24,349 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.53. The company has a market capitalization of $113.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 yield of 2.44%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.08.

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.