Davis Capital Management Lowers Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Davis Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% during the third quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 8,222 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 69.1% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 48.5% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 48.6% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Trading Up 3.0 %

SBUX stock opened at $97.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.