Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Trims Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,655 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,766 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 125.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 285.4% in the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.2%

SBUX opened at $86.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.56. The company has a market cap of $98.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 4.99% and a negative return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $9.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.22%.

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.