Busey Bank Reduces Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Busey Bank reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 56.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,855 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 123,876 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Starbucks by 3.4% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 6,393 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 21,129 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Starbucks from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $107.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.89.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 63.87%.

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.