Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,837 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,177 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $12,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,756,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,388,924,000 after purchasing an additional 232,031 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,051 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,956,442 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $452,374,000 after purchasing an additional 133,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.25. 7,185,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,387,159. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $84.29 and a twelve month high of $115.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.28.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.55.

Starbucks Company 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.