Simon Quick Advisors LLC Sells 364 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,347 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.04. The company has a market capitalization of $111.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.