Abacus Planning Group Inc. Invests $221,000 in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,839 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,240,652,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $415,167,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $512,943,000 after buying an additional 2,897,282 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2,624.3% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,150,309 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $196,516,000 after buying an additional 2,071,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $94.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.94. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $107.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.06 and a 200-day moving average of $83.98.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays upped 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.21.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

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

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.