Northern Financial Advisors Inc Sells 670 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc cut its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,346 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,329,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $113.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.49. The company has a market capitalization of $128.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $113.40.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.