Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 11,846 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 139,129 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 11,846 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up about 1.0% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $13,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 298.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 38,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 28,822 shares in the last quarter. DDD Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 5.7% in the third quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 203,616 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $18,584,000 after purchasing an additional 5,027 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.7% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 8,476 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 32.0% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $87.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,824,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,392,070. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $84.29 and a twelve month high of $115.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.46 and a 200-day moving average of $94.30. The stock has a market cap of $99.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.96%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.68.

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.