Candlestick Capital Management LP Cuts Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Candlestick Capital Management LP cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,817 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 391,187 shares during the quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP's holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 327,459 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $29,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $9,497,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus upgraded Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.15.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.69. 13,504,657 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,453,864. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.45. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Starbucks's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

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.