VELA Investment Management LLC Acquires 15,950 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,097 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,950 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up approximately 1.1% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hendershot Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 0.3% in the second quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 127,632 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,936,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 93,907 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Starbucks by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,553,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $196,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Starbucks by 131.7% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 8,715 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,790 shares of company stock worth $865,514 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Starbucks in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Starbucks from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.42.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $91.56 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.96. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $107.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

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.