Highland Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 71,520 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $6,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at $2,640,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,634 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at $198,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,912 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.05.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.3 %

Starbucks stock opened at $91.50 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $89.21 and a 12-month high of $115.48. The stock has a market cap of $103.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.19.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

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.