Invesco Ltd. Acquires 944,897 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,457,981 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 944,897 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,045,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 12.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 181,612 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $17,713,000 after buying an additional 19,406 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 104,917 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,228,000 after purchasing an additional 40,915 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter worth about $222,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.12.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $82.10 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.41. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

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.