Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 13,618 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,947 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 13,618 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 3,973.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 118,258 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $11,529,000 after buying an additional 115,355 shares in the last quarter. Avala Global LP acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,519,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,096,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 34.3% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,914,332 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $186,628,000 after purchasing an additional 488,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.9 %

SBUX opened at $102.46 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

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.