Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Raises Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 21.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,929 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 107,933,270 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,362,673,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $1,240,652,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,091,378,000 after acquiring an additional 268,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,027,953 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $948,093,000 after acquiring an additional 27,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,511,378 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $529,147,000 after acquiring an additional 166,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’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 value of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’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 value of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. HSBC decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen equities 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.54.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $77.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.09. The stock has a market cap of $88.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.80 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

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.