Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,827 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. InvesTrust bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $5,907,000. Range Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,544 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,929 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $92.60 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SBUX. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Starbucks

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.