Golden State Equity Partners Increases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,473 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Starbucks were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 7,879 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 2,572 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.5 %

SBUX opened at $88.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.28. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $84.29 and a 52 week high of $115.48. The company has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 60.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Fourteen equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.