Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.85 Million Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,637 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,813 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake 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. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 153.8% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.11. The company had a trading volume of 22,153,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $72.67 and a 12 month high of $108.12. The stock has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued 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). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Gordon Haskett lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. HSBC lowered their price target on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.