Dillon & Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Dillon & Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,079 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 24,115 shares during the quarter. Starbucks accounts for about 1.3% of Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.1% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 154,577 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $15,162,000 after purchasing an additional 12,851 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Starbucks by 22.9% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 111,477 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,935,000 after acquiring an additional 20,760 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 52,840 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 62.2% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,254 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Starbucks by 21.4% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 29,798 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after acquiring an additional 5,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.27.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $92.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $104.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 1-year low of $74.75 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $92.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.37.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 7.18%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 105.17%.

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.