Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Paladin Advisory Group LLC

Paladin Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,013 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. Paladin Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 14,194 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,200 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.68.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX traded up $0.46 on Friday, reaching $87.61. 11,898,220 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,456,940. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.14 and its 200-day moving average is $94.42. The company has a market cap of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $84.29 and a twelve month high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was 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 owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $653,183 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.