Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Invests $728,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,976 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,244,812,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Starbucks by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,457,981 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,045,541,000 after buying an additional 944,897 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SBUX. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.68.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $85.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.70. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $97.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

Starbucks 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.