Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 272 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lessened its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,383 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $98.81 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. BTIG Research upped their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average 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.