Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,219 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,752 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,299.8% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 466,506 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $44,789,000 after purchasing an additional 433,179 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 7,879 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,473 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,681 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 10,857 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Starbucks from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Starbucks from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,682.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,264,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,790 shares of company stock worth $865,514. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 3.7 %

SBUX traded down $3.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.97. 9,142,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,049,636. The stock has a market cap of $107.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.79 and a 200 day moving average of $83.82. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

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.