2,230 Shares in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Purchased by Francis Financial Inc.

Francis Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,756,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,373,017 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,961,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,459,390 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,619,709 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,519,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499,524 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,650,462,000 after acquiring an additional 8,451,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after acquiring an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,665. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $91.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $89.21 and a 12-month high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Gordon Haskett downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Starbucks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $112.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.05.

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.