Latitude Advisors LLC Has $389,000 Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Latitude Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,054 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quilter Plc bought a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $208,530,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.43.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.69. 978,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,288,898. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $84.29 and a 52 week high of $115.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.53.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

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.