Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 371,438 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 34,818 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $33,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Starbucks by 100.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $126,574,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $112.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.