Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 20,147 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Trust Co. of Vermont trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,690 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 20,147 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 119,488 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 12,157 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.13. 8,361,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,954,453. The firm has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.89 and a 200 day moving average of $91.38. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

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.