Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Has $2.38 Million Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,022 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Starbucks accounts for about 1.0% of Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reduced their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $98.81 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day moving average of $92.53. The stock has a market cap of $112.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm 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 business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid 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 2.47%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio 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.