Cigna Investments Inc. New Lowers Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cigna Investments Inc. New decreased its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,677 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.70 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $107.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.37. The company has a market cap of $110.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 45.15% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,327.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.32.

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.