Gradient Investments LLC Trims Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 328,279 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 26,245 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $29,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 8,222 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 69.1% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 48.5% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,936 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 48.6% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $112.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS 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 posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.