Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Position Lifted by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 181.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,301 shares of the coffee company's stock after buying an additional 29,182 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its position in Starbucks by 144.6% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 6,771 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,284 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,545 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.7 %

SBUX traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.13. 8,361,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,781,045. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.92.

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.