Verity & Verity LLC Buys 9,666 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,488 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,666 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 12,157 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 7,507 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,653 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 5,462 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 69,181 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $6,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $95.13. The stock had a trading volume of 8,361,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,453. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.84 and a 200-day moving average of $91.60. The company has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush dropped their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.