Knuff & Co LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,203 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,684,470 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,656,591 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake 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 valued at $493,350,000 after buying an additional 1,591,206 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.09.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders 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 %

SBUX stock traded down $1.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.11. The stock had a trading volume of 22,153,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $72.67 and a 1-year high of $108.12. The company has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

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.