Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Bennett Selby Investments LP

Bennett Selby Investments LP cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Starbucks makes up 1.5% of Bennett Selby Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Bennett Selby Investments LP’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $98.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $112.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.08. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SBUX. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.