Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Holdings Lessened by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’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 directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $95.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.38. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

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.