Greenleaf Trust Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $20,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 15.4% in the third 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 during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $794,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 60.6% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,464 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.1% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 74,829 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.61. 11,898,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,456,940. The company has a market cap of $99.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.42. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. Starbucks’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction 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 $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $653,183. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Company 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.