Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,968 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Starbucks by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $9,497,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $84.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.87 and a 200 day moving average of $96.39. The company has a market capitalization of $96.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 88.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SBUX. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.72.

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.