Mutual Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Mutual Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,748 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,248 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $97.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

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.