Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $29.60 Million Investment in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 323,858 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,598,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $1,244,812,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter worth approximately $126,574,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,138,442,000 after purchasing an additional 784,432 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX opened at $82.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.32 and a 200-day moving average of $99.38.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.12.

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.