GWN Securities Inc. Sells 8,674 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

GWN Securities Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,612 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 8,674 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,379,619,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter valued at approximately $817,759,000. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter worth approximately $503,539,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 59.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $943,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,537 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,904,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545,655 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.12.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $84.17 on Thursday. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $75.50 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $95.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 7.18%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 105.17%.

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.