Ninety One UK Ltd Reduces Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 679,603 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 182,169 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.06% of Starbucks worth $65,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the first quarter worth about $208,530,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 153.8% during 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. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $653,183. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.43.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.1 %

SBUX stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,400,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,411,019. The company's 50 day moving average is $91.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.47. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.29 and a fifty-two week high of $115.48. The stock has a market cap of $98.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Starbucks's payout ratio is 60.96%.

Starbucks Company 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.