WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 2,011 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,556 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Starbucks by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after purchasing an additional 437,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after purchasing an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 327,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

SBUX stock opened at $112.55 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $113.47. The firm has a market cap of $127.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.87.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.