Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 417,929 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 20,637 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $38,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,929 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,544 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Finally, InvesTrust purchased a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $5,907,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $81.66 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $92.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.30.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Baird R W cut shares of Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.72.

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.