Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $14.64 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,200 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $14,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.48.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $97.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.16% and a negative return on equity of 49.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 67.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.