Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Sky Investment Group LLC

Sky Investment Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,792 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after buying an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction 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 approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.7 %

SBUX opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.84 and a 200-day moving average of $91.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during 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 business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.