Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,836 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,756,001,000 after acquiring an additional 387,632 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after buying an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,091,378,000 after buying an additional 268,030 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,601,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,574,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.69. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $72.67 and a 52 week high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen 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, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

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.