ERn Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,514 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orca Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,471 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 45,322 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 13,372 shares during the period. Summa Corp. bought a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $384,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,781,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

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

Starbucks Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $79.24 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $107.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.29. The firm has a market cap of $89.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.54.

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.