Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stake Reduced by Natural Investments LLC

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Starbucks Corporation by 37.5%, now holding 8,879 shares valued at $870,000.
• Starbucks reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50, which missed analysts' expectations by $0.14, though revenue increased by 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, with a high dividend payout ratio of 105.17%.

Natural Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 37.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,879 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 5,317 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $5,011,796,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $817,759,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Starbucks by 167.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,690,198 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $519,230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563,942 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Starbucks by 218.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,552,921 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $446,596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124,533 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 629.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 3,190,114 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $291,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $105.00 price target on Starbucks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.27.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SBUX traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.12. The company had a trading volume of 8,032,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,577,803. The stock has a market cap of $104.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.45. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $74.75 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.14). Starbucks had a net margin of 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 36.23%. The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.17%.

Starbucks Company 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.