Westpac Banking Corp Increases Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,169 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,277 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.12.

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Starbucks Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $2.10 on Monday, reaching $80.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,093,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,287,281. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $105.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.41. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $90.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share 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 $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Starbucks's 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.