Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,735 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Starbucks comprises 1.2% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orca Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 45,322 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 13,372 shares during the last quarter. Summa Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,781,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. DZ Bank lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.85. 13,207,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,825,160. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.80 and a 1 year high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

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.