ICW Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,185 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY lifted its position in Starbucks by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX traded down $15.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.34. The stock had a trading volume of 45,775,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,860,931. The firm has a market cap of $83.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $90.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.25. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $73.01 and a one year high of $114.56.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business 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 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair cut Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.48.

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.