Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,285 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $6,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank raised its position in Starbucks by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.6 %

SBUX opened at $101.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.38. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued 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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.