Essex LLC Reduces Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Essex LLC decreased its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,160 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,532 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $112.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $97.12 and its 200 day moving average is $94.57. The company has a market cap of $127.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 2.17%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% 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.