Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 11,408 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 54,800 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 11,408 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.6% during 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 in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 1.3% during the third quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SBUX. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research 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.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.31.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $99.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.03. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted 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. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.88%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.