Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 277.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,293 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 78,885 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Orca Investment Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,281,471 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 7,619 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $794,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.11. 22,115,226 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,469,554. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.98. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $72.67 and a 1 year high of $108.12. The company has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.97.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. 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.