Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 807 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,601 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut 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. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $112.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $97.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.57. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $112.62.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

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.