Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 7,371 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 125.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Starbucks from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.50.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $85.57 on Monday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.54.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 4.99% and a negative return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

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.