Paladin Advisory Group LLC Sells 522 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Paladin Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,013 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the period. Paladin Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tanager Wealth Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 3,446 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 12,842 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,341,000. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 63,373 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.61. The stock had a trading volume of 11,898,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,456,940. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.42. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $84.29 and a one year high of $115.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BTIG Research cut their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $653,183 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.