SFE Investment Counsel Trims Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,270 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 7,619 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $794,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,464 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 74,829 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,830,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.2 %

Starbucks stock opened at $87.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.14 and its 200 day moving average is $94.42. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $84.29 and a twelve month high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid 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 yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 60.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $653,183. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.