Great Diamond Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Great Diamond Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,935 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was 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. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.2 %

SBUX opened at $107.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.11. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $110.34.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

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.