River Street Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

River Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,207 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 5,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 40,088 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Omega Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC now owns 3,613 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC lowered their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.54.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ SBUX traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.85. 13,207,542 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,825,160. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.02. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $88.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

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.