Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,000 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $13,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 125.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 285.4% during the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $81.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.30. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.14). Starbucks had a net margin of 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 36.23%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 105.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

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.