Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 86,935 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 710,290 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 86,935 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Starbucks worth $64,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 6.8 %

Shares of SBUX stock traded up $5.08 on Friday, hitting $79.27. 32,965,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,732,179. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $107.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.75.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of Starbucks 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $601,375 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.