Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 20,000 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,000 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Starbucks comprises approximately 1.2% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $111.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.00. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 73.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush cut their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

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.