Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,757,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 40,053 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $252,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Narwhal Capital Management grew its position in Starbucks by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 32,738 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 9,282 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Napa Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,435,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $653,000. Finally, Pegasus Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,289,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $86.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $85.01 and its 200-day moving average is $87.47. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $75.50 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.86 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.14). Starbucks had a net margin of 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 36.23%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.80.

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.