MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 8,214 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 334,707 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 8,214 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $32,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,960 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 6.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 159,915 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $15,590,000 after acquiring an additional 9,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,667 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush reduced their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $100.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.55. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. 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.