Buffington Mohr McNeal Invests $214,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Buffington Mohr McNeal bought a new position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after buying an additional 7,619 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,464 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 74,829 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,830,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,348,000. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $85.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $96.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.53. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year 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 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 analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 4.04 EPS 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 issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.43.

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.