Marco Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Marco Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,725 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 2,460 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,756,001,000 after buying an additional 387,632 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,388,924,000 after buying an additional 232,031 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,144,000 after buying an additional 1,115,051 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Starbucks by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after buying an additional 1,591,206 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,956,442 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $452,374,000 after buying an additional 133,620 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.55.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.25. 7,185,257 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,387,159. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $84.29 and a 12-month high of $115.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.