Okabena Investment Services Inc. Invests $1.88 Million in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Okabena Investment Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 19,273 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Starbucks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $678,923,000 after buying an additional 221,718 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $348,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,847 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Starbucks by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,362,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $327,771,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 3.9% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,255,967 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $317,424,000 after purchasing an additional 122,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $102.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.10. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The stock has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.