Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 810 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,692 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 buying an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $243,910,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% in the 2nd 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 period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $99.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.03. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $107.66.

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

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

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.