Bill Few Associates Inc. Sells 498 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,512 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in Starbucks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% during the third quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 8,222 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 9,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in Starbucks by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $110.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.04. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 73.72%.

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.