Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,855 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,528 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.08.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.66 and a 200 day moving average of $92.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.