Arlington Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Arlington Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,446 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,555 shares during the period. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks 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. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $112.62. The company has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.71%.

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.