CenterBook Partners LP Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

CenterBook Partners LP lowered its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 77.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,876 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 56,441 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,812,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,457,981 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,045,541,000 after purchasing an additional 944,897 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Starbucks Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $84.60 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.85. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

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 negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.