KRS Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

KRS Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,181 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after acquiring an additional 327,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.13. 8,361,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,954,453. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.38. The company has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Starbucks 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.