Garde Capital Inc. Lowers Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Garde Capital Inc. cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,659 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 4,526 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada cut Starbucks from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $1.95 on Thursday, reaching $84.05. 10,304,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,126,431. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.02 and a 200 day moving average of $95.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.41%.

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.