West Coast Financial LLC Sells 1,598 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

West Coast Financial LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,067 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,598 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $92.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.34.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.