Private Ocean LLC Lowers Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Private Ocean LLC lessened its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,834 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Private Ocean LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $1,240,652,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its position in Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,470 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Starbucks by 342.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,160,737 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $207,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,656 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 432.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,039,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $195,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Starbucks by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $77.85 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.80 and a 52-week high of $107.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.02.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered their price target on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. William Blair downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.54.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.