Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Decreases Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,872 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,128 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.81.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $101.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.38. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

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 firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 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.