Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Starbucks Corporation by 15.2%, selling 38,285 shares during the first quarter, now holding 213,185 shares worth approximately $20.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raising its stake by 59.5%, now owning over 9.6 million shares valued at approximately $943.9 million.
• Starbucks reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 EPS, missing estimates, while announcing a dividend of $0.61 per share to be paid on August 29th, representing a 2.8% dividend yield.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,185 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 38,285 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $20,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth about $1,379,619,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $817,759,000. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $503,539,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Starbucks by 59.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $943,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Starbucks by 22.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,904,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545,655 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.40.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $86.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.06. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $75.50 and a fifty-two 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 36.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Starbucks's payout ratio is 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.

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