Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $134.62 Million Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,469,136 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,504 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Starbucks worth $134,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 125.2% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 285.4% during the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group set a $94.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.44.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $84.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.76 and its 200 day moving average is $87.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.37 billion, a PE ratio of 51.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 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 the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. 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. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 151.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.