First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 46,450 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,705 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 46,450 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $27,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $7,675,000. NS Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1.8% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 217,785 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $21,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 18.8% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 5,856 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $8,832,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $307,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.62. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $105.47.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

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.