Ascent Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ascent Group LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 18.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,701 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,862 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,240,652,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $415,167,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in 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 period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in 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 period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $579,375. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Starbucks from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.71.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.6 %

Starbucks stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $75.20. The stock had a trading volume of 10,860,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,700,343. The stock has a market cap of $85.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.94. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $107.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.13.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

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.