Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,013 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position 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 worth $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $111.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $126.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $112.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

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.