Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 6,411 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,945 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,411 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $98.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.19. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.