Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $3.70 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,581 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 2.4% during the third quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,200 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 4.3% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.50. 21,888,790 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,714,714. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.53. The firm has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results 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). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SBUX. HSBC reduced their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.