New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,713,014 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 86,819 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.15% of Starbucks worth $164,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 16,588 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth approximately $246,000. Exeter Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 13,334 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.7% during the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,966 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 48,019 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,383,000 after purchasing an additional 4,551 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.68.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $629,738. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.57 on Monday, reaching $88.18. 8,608,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,459,721. The firm has a market cap of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.42.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

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.