Covenant Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Covenant Partners LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,032 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 614 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 498.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.48.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.31. 9,665,550 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,366,117. The firm has a market cap of $110.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.05.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.22%.

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.