Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. reduced its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,060 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush upped their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $107.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $122.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.48. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $110.34.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.71%.

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.