Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,722,714 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 7,453 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $261,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,756,001,000 after acquiring an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after purchasing an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,051 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,956,442 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $452,374,000 after purchasing an additional 133,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $87.89. 1,151,122 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,364,376. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.59%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $629,738. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.68.

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.