Bennett Associates Wealth Management Sells 706 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Bennett Associates Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,256 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 706 shares during the period. Starbucks comprises approximately 0.4% of Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 8.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,649,493 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $206,279,000 after purchasing an additional 207,156 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 97.5% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,330 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 13,495 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.8% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,347 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 4.2% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 41,194 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its position in Starbucks by 13.7% in the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 2,704 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research raised their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $94.43 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.35. The company has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.