Ancora Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ancora Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,991 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 15,510 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $10,138,442,000 after buying an additional 784,432 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 54,924,230 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $5,011,796,000 after acquiring an additional 9,174,682 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after acquiring an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,826,001 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $2,259,516,000 after purchasing an additional 548,245 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Starbucks by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,868,817 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,448,030,000 after purchasing an additional 718,880 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.71. The stock had a trading volume of 8,223,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,282,925. The business's 50-day moving average price is $91.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.10. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $93.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. Starbucks's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Starbucks's payout ratio is 88.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. TD Securities decreased their target price on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Starbucks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $103.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.72.

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.