Verity & Verity LLC Boosts Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 27.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,656 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,864 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $14,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $286,000. Narwhal Capital Management increased its position in Starbucks by 39.6% during the second quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 32,738 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 9,282 shares during the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management purchased a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth approximately $1,435,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $653,000. Finally, Pegasus Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Starbucks from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.44.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $83.36 on Tuesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.67.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 4.99% and a negative return on equity of 31.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $994,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks 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.