Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 17,826 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,768 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 17,826 shares during the quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $12,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. BTIG Research upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $100.02 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.66 and its 200 day moving average is $92.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

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.