Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management cut its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,991 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Avalon Trust Co boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 3,216 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,884,183 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $176,487,000 after purchasing an additional 803,853 shares during the period. TCG Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 200.8% during the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,146 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 8,775 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its stake in Starbucks by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 7,843 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co lifted its stake in Starbucks by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 5,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $108.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.78. The stock had a trading volume of 15,016,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,526,872. The company’s fifty day moving average is $88.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.84. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $72.67 and a 52 week high of $108.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.