Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 1,687 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,511 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,687 shares during the period. Starbucks makes up 0.8% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $13,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,146,744,000 after purchasing an additional 327,734 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Starbucks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $678,923,000 after purchasing an additional 221,718 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Starbucks by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,847 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Starbucks by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,362,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $327,771,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $101.57 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business 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%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

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.