Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 33.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,037 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,601 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Starbucks from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $579,375 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.95. 18,892,853 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,788,821. The company has a market cap of $88.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.94. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $107.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.89.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.81%.

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.