Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 26,834 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 444,256 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 26,834 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $37,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 270.3% during the second quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 125.2% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Mizuho upgraded shares of Starbucks to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.04.

Starbucks Stock Down 3.1%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $86.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.15. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $98.58 billion, a PE ratio of 52.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.22%.

Starbucks Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.