Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Position Lessened by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,801 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,114 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $14,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,891,648 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,756,001,000 after purchasing an additional 387,632 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,388,924,000 after acquiring an additional 232,031 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,091,378,000 after purchasing an additional 268,030 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $962,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,206 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SBUX. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $1.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.11. 22,153,770 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. The stock has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.84. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $72.67 and a twelve month high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.