UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 48,837 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,294,048 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 48,837 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $613,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $243,910,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake 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 buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after buying an additional 2,324,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.8 %

SBUX stock opened at $101.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $115.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.74.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.