Maple Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Maple Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,474 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 694 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter worth about $1,379,619,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth approximately $817,759,000. Polen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $503,539,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $943,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,537 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Starbucks by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,904,366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $86.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.79 and a 200 day moving average of $87.56. The company has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 151.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Starbucks to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Starbucks from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.50.

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.