Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,404 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY lifted its position 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 boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. William Blair cut Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.43.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,888,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,714,714. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.80 and a fifty-two week high of $108.12. The company has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.53.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.