Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,478,126 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 210,011 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.39% of Starbucks worth $408,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $10,138,442,000 after purchasing an additional 784,432 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,868,817 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,448,030,000 after buying an additional 718,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth $1,244,812,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.12.

Starbucks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of SBUX traded down $6.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.10. 19,694,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,228,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.38. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

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.