Wealth Quarterback LLC Sells 6,652 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wealth Quarterback LLC decreased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,890 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,652 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Starbucks by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 437,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in 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 buying an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.9% during the 3rd 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 period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $112.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.14. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $113.47. The company has a market capitalization of $127.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Starbucks

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.