Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 579,380 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 11,371 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $55,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orca Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 15.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,619 shares during the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $794,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

Starbucks stock traded down $1.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,153,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $72.67 and a twelve month high of $108.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.