D.B. Root & Company LLC Lowers Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lowered its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,779 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orca Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 45,322 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 13,372 shares in the last quarter. Summa Corp. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $2,781,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.85. 13,207,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,825,160. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.80 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The company has a market cap of $88.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.02.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.54.

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.