Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 3,684 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,532 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 112,059,570 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,991,923,000 after buying an additional 953,361 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,904,366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545,655 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,379,619,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $943,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,537 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $817,759,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.3%

SBUX stock opened at $87.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.51. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 7.18%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 105.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $165.00 price target on Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.12.

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.