True North Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

True North Advisors LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,013 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 133,461 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $12,178,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 223.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 204,711 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $18,680,000 after acquiring an additional 370,808 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 5,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 11,548 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $97.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 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 $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.