Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Gradient Capital Advisors LLC

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,389 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after acquiring an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after buying an additional 327,734 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $112.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

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.