AJOVista LLC Invests $152,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,585 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY raised its position in Starbucks by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.11. 22,153,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.84. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $72.67 and a twelve month high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results 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). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Profile

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.