Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,581,700 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 105,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $343,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 18,541 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 647,987 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $59,142,000 after acquiring an additional 8,374 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 3,789 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.59. 14,574,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,205,755. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $72.67 and a 1 year high of $109.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.10% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. Barclays cut their price objective on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.