Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stake Trimmed by Kennon Green & Company LLC

Kennon Green & Company LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,288 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up about 2.8% of Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,388,924,000 after acquiring an additional 232,031 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,115,051 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Starbucks by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Starbucks by 2.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $87.94. The company had a trading volume of 5,304,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,339,400. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $84.29 and a 12 month high of $115.48. The firm has a market cap of $99.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.30.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BTIG Research cut their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.55.

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.