New Century Financial Group LLC Trims Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

New Century Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,308 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 789 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 133,461 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $12,178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks 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 owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.99 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.68 and a 200 day moving average of $92.04.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.