Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Bill Few Associates Inc.

Bill Few Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,512 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Starbucks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,358,464,000 after acquiring an additional 333,004 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after purchasing an additional 327,734 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $97.73 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.04. The firm has a market cap of $110.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 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.