Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 515 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 515 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $112.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 yield of 2.20%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.