Spire Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,403 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,546 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY increased its stake in Starbucks by 133.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 153.8% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $0.21 on Monday, hitting $72.90. 18,601,605 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,574,881. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.84. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $72.67 and a 52 week high of $108.12. The company has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair downgraded shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

Starbucks Company 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.