Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Acquires 23,820 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 119.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,703 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,820 shares during the period. Starbucks comprises 1.7% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 107,933,270 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,362,673,000 after buying an additional 1,041,622 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,652,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,091,378,000 after buying an additional 268,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,027,953 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $948,093,000 after buying an additional 27,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,511,378 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $529,147,000 after buying an additional 166,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,750 shares of company stock worth $878,893. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $79.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $89.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.96. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $107.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.16 and its 200-day moving average is $88.36.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

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.