Equitable Trust Co. Buys 798 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,869 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 125.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBUX. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Starbucks from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.96.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $81.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. Starbucks Corporation has a twelve month low of $75.50 and a twelve month high of $117.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.70.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 7.18%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 105.17%.

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.