Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Boosts Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,215 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.1 %

Starbucks stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,784,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,835,503. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.14. The stock has a market cap of $103.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $89.21 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

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). The business had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 dividend yield of 2.49%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $103.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Starbucks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.05.

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.