Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,492 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $82.10 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.32 and a 200-day moving average of $99.36.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

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.