Veracity Capital LLC Sells 184 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Veracity Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,529 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.7% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed 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 dropped their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $98.81 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value 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. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.