Investors Research Corp Lowers Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Investors Research Corp lessened its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,323 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,275 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.61 on Thursday, hitting $98.87. The company had a trading volume of 988,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,058,177. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $104.68. The company has a market cap of $112.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.70.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

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.