YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,964 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,482,045,000 after buying an additional 437,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after buying an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after purchasing an additional 327,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.4 %

Starbucks stock opened at $100.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.71. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.