Wesleyan Assurance Society Decreases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wesleyan Assurance Society lowered its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,950 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,244,812,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,011,796,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174,682 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,348,790 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 167.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,690,198 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $519,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,563,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $284,283,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $84.61 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $117.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.87 and its 200 day moving average is $96.39. The company has a market capitalization of $96.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 88.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.72.

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.