Mechanics Bank Trust Department Reduces Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,940 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,192 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after acquiring an additional 437,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after acquiring an additional 333,004 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,146,744,000 after purchasing an additional 327,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $95.13 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.60. The stock 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 results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Company 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.