Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,400 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.55.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $88.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $84.29 and a 1 year high of $115.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.27.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.96%.

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.