Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 136,399 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,365 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $13,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its stake in Starbucks by 8,677.8% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684,470 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 481.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,679,621 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $427,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,020 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $88.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,368,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,439,514. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $84.29 and a 52 week high of $115.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.27. The company has a market capitalization of $100.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.13). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Monday, March 18th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.55.

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.