PYA Waltman Capital LLC Increases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC increased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,756,001,000 after buying an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after purchasing an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 11.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,051 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the fourth 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, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,956,442 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $452,374,000 after purchasing an additional 133,620 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $14.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.53. 30,329,667 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,687,718. The company has a market cap of $83.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $73.44 and a one year high of $114.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.17 and a 200 day moving average of $94.25.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results 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 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.96%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Gordon Haskett downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.48.

Starbucks Company 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.