Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $7.51 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,436 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Seven Eight Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 231.7% during the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 92,661 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $8,457,000 after purchasing an additional 64,724 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 439,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $40,127,000 after purchasing an additional 37,686 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Starbucks by 3.9% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 439,600 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $40,124,000 after buying an additional 16,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $300,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $0.41 on Friday, hitting $75.85. The company had a trading volume of 605,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,287,027. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $107.66. The firm has a market cap of $85.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.50.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders 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 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’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 owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,750 shares of company stock worth $878,893 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.54.

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.