Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires Shares of 7,215 Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,215 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in Starbucks by 8,677.8% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,706,000 after buying an additional 2,684,470 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 432.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,039,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $195,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,591 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,471 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.43.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.90. 18,601,605 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,574,881. The firm has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $72.67 and a 12 month high of $108.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.69.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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 3.13%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were 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 owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.