Merit Financial Group LLC Has $7.20 Million Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,358 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its position in Starbucks by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 11,312 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lifted its position in Starbucks by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 4,240 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Starbucks by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,860 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.3%

SBUX stock traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $86.99. 8,474,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,067,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.35. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's payout ratio is 88.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of several research reports. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Starbucks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.92.

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.