GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Buys 433,179 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1,299.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,506 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 433,179 shares during the period. Starbucks makes up about 3.0% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $44,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 12,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Starbucks by 270.8% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 8,188 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 5.4% during the third quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 64,091 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Starbucks by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 96,457 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $8,804,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $73.11 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $72.67 and a 12-month high of $108.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.84. The firm has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for 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%. Starbucks’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.09.

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.