Aureus Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Aureus Asset Management LLC cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 39.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,651 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,393 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 55,793 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 34,580 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 18,582 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 7,596 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,362,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $327,771,000 after buying an additional 9,900 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $102.46 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32. The company has a market cap of $116.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.10.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Starbucks Company 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.