MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,426 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after buying an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth about $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value 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. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $111.03 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $112.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.10. The firm has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target 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. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

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.