Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Purchased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,803 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 107,933,270 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,362,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,652,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,091,378,000 after acquiring an additional 268,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,027,953 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $948,093,000 after acquiring an additional 27,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in Starbucks by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,234,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,750 shares of company stock worth $878,893. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock traded up $1.52 on Friday, hitting $74.82. 10,421,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,378,802. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.74. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. Starbucks’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.75.

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.