B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,205 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Vancity Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 143,773 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $13,139,000 after acquiring an additional 38,555 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter worth approximately $1,648,000. Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $621,000. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at $767,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,395 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $579,375 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.95. 17,604,689 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,785,623. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $107.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.89.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, William Blair downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.88.

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.