Verity & Verity LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,488 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,666 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $95.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.89 and its 200 day moving average is $91.38. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

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.