Marco Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Marco Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,725 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Firm Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 20.8% during the third quarter. Family Firm Inc. now owns 2,915 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 17.9% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 11.7% during the third quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 16,885 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 14.2% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,638 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 18,541 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have 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 company insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, hitting $88.25. 7,185,257 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,387,159. The company has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.36 and its 200 day moving average is $94.30. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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%.

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.