Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,800 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $13,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during 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 acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $112.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 78.71%.

Starbucks Company 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.