Financial Architects Inc Grows Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Financial Architects Inc lifted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,930 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Financial Architects Inc’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Starbucks by 80,389.3% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 125,195,416 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $12,401,858,000 after purchasing an additional 125,039,873 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth $1,222,931,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 115,334.1% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,493,639 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $842,569,000 after acquiring an additional 8,486,281 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Starbucks by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,650,462,000 after acquiring an additional 8,451,599 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $190,270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.77, for a total value of $681,005.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,560.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $106.03 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $89.21 and a one year high of $115.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The coffee company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 48.79% and a net margin of 11.47%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 9th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $123.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Starbucks from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.52.

Starbucks Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty 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.