Kessler Investment Group LLC Has $523,000 Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Kessler Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,733 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $112.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $98.03 and its 200-day moving average is $95.61. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $113.47.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.