Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,931 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

SBUX opened at $73.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $72.67 and a 52 week high of $108.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS 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 net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SBUX. Barclays cut their price objective on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair cut Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC cut their price objective on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.09.

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.