Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 61,591 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 42.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 83,537 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 61,591 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

SBUX stock opened at $112.55 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $113.47. The firm has a market cap of $127.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.87.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

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.