National Pension Service Buys 38,836 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,935,135 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 38,836 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Starbucks worth $185,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,244 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 57,875 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,287,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY grew its stake in Starbucks by 185.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 18,193 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 11,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.19. The stock had a trading volume of 9,130,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,867,885. The firm has a market cap of $85.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.53. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.80 and a 1 year high of $108.11.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Gordon Haskett cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.