Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Garde Capital Inc.

Garde Capital Inc. trimmed its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,659 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,526 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after buying an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 10,524 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $84.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.72.

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.