GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Buys Shares of 13,800 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,800 shares of the coffee company's stock, valued at approximately $1,259,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 11,312 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its position in Starbucks by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,860 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Starbucks from $114.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.24.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.50. The company had a trading volume of 9,784,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,492,765. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.37. The firm has a market cap of $92.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is 78.71%.

Starbucks Company 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.