Ledyard National Bank Decreases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ledyard National Bank decreased its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,518 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $111.70 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.20. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $112.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s 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.