Northern Financial Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,544 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,756,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Starbucks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after buying an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,091,378,000 after buying an additional 268,030 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Starbucks by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $962,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591,206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.32. The company had a trading volume of 10,894,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,714,291. The company has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.53. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.80 and a 12-month high of $108.11.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.43.

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.