William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 129,412 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,149,338 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 129,412 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $105,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,240,652,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $512,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897,282 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 2,624.3% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,150,309 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $196,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,378 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Starbucks by 342.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,160,737 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $207,444,000 after buying an additional 1,672,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 432.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,039,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $195,825,000 after buying an additional 1,656,591 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $601,375 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Starbucks from $104.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.92.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.10. 11,564,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,412,585. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.93 and a 200 day moving average of $86.16.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

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.