Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Trims Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,689,212 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 137,156 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up 1.6% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.24% of Starbucks worth $258,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 298.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 38,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 28,822 shares in the last quarter. DDD Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 5.7% in the third quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 203,616 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $18,584,000 after acquiring an additional 5,027 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.7% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,476 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 32.0% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $88.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $84.29 and a 12 month high of $115.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.27.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.55.

About Starbucks

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.