Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,637 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,813 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY raised its position in Starbucks by 133.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 153.8% in 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. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $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 twelve month low of $72.67 and a twelve month high of $108.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.34 and a 200-day moving average of $93.98. The stock has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SBUX. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.09.

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.