Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 362 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 153.8% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SBUX. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $72.50. 21,888,790 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,714,714. The company has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.80 and a 1 year high of $108.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.53.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.