AIA Group Ltd Acquires 6,303 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,717 shares of the coffee company's stock after buying an additional 6,303 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wintrust Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,665 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $6.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.10. The company had a trading volume of 19,694,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,211,861. The business's 50 day moving average price is $105.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.36. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $93.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

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.