Trust Co. of Vermont Trims Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,690 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 20,147 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in 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 during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter worth about $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.92.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

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

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock traded up $0.70 on Friday, reaching $95.13. The stock had a trading volume of 8,361,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,453. The stock has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.38.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 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.