AMG National Trust Bank Trims Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

AMG National Trust Bank reduced its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,098 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $243,910,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,721,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 108.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after buying an additional 2,324,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Starbucks by 89.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,553,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $196,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,153 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $105.47. The firm has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.62.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. 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 company earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 73.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong 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 $102.81.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks 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 directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.