Lone Pine Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 59.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,475,057 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,424,207 shares during the period. Starbucks accounts for 4.4% of Lone Pine Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Starbucks worth $590,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities dropped their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.15.

Starbucks Stock Up 3.3 %

SBUX stock traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,504,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,453,864. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.45.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.