Avalon Trust Co Increases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Avalon Trust Co raised its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,216 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,706,000 after buying an additional 2,684,470 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 432.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,039,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $195,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,591 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 worth $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after buying an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $73.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,153,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $72.67 and a 12-month high of $108.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.84. The firm has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.81%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related 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 transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last ninety days. Company 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.