Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,692 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 82,532 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $20,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,240,652,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth $415,167,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897,282 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Starbucks by 2,624.3% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,150,309 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $196,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,378 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.88. 15,185,688 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,858,536. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.66. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $107.66.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued 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 3.00%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair cut Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.88.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $579,375 over the last quarter. 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.