Vantage Investment Partners LLC Trims Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 140,768 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 17,826 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $12,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 9,157 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 18,296 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 4,694 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 189,557 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $17,297,000 after acquiring an additional 50,030 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 125,107 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $11,416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,413 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,282,000 after acquiring an additional 9,779 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.53. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush lowered their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.08.

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.