Gemmer Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Gemmer Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,087 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Starbucks makes up about 1.0% of Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,000. Zhang Financial LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,078 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,497 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $95.13 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.60. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The company has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

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.