Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Lowers Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 67,443 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 940 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $6,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Starbucks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% during the third quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 8,222 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 9,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Starbucks by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 37,584 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 73.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.92.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.