QV Investors Inc. Sells 95,100 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

QV Investors Inc. lessened its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,920 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 95,100 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after purchasing an additional 437,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Starbucks by 100.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after acquiring an additional 327,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research increased their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,542,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,465,325. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.13. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

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.