Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stake Raised by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,076 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,138,442,000 after buying an additional 784,432 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Starbucks by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,011,796,000 after buying an additional 9,174,682 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,292,989,000 after buying an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,826,001 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,259,516,000 after buying an additional 548,245 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Starbucks by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,868,817 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,448,030,000 after buying an additional 718,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SBUX. Citigroup cut their price objective on Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $103.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen 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 an average price target of $98.72.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $86.00 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The firm has a market cap of $97.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.02 and a 200-day moving average of $95.82.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.41%.

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.