Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $235,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,421 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth about $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $243,910,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in Starbucks by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter worth about $257,721,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $107.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.47.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 45.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.45 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 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.32.

Starbucks Company 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.