Claro Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,204 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,751 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings 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 during the period. Weil Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 69.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,936 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Starbucks by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $93.21. The stock had a trading volume of 4,807,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,625,216. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.13. The firm has a market cap of $105.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.