Empirical Finance LLC Sells 523 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,169 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 523 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.4 %

Starbucks stock opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $112.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced 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 earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

Starbucks Company 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.