Prospera Financial Services Inc Sells 4,241 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Prospera Financial Services Inc cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,141 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,241 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 24,066 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $422,000. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. ETF Store Inc. bought a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $105.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.62. The firm has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

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.