Riverbridge Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 510,103 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 18,930 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $46,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 73.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 43,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 18,420 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,765 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 59.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 216,867 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,883,000 after buying an additional 81,233 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 3.0% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 38,452 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 3.7% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 42,650 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $110.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.04.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

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.