Pitcairn Co. Sells 1,182 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Pitcairn Co. cut its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,608 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the second 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. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $243,910,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 108.1% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324,847 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted 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 worth $196,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 158.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,824,133 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $142,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,343 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 several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $102.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.11 and a 200 day moving average of $87.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.