CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 17,095 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,237,353 shares of the coffee company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.11% of Starbucks worth $112,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Baird R W downgraded Starbucks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $114.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $2.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.95. 3,470,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,456,645. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $117.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's payout ratio is presently 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.