Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 417,929 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 20,637 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Starbucks were worth $38,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Starbucks by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $29,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,497,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.72.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SBUX traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $82.19. 8,755,614 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,220,036. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.00. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.41%.

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.