Perpetual Ltd Sells 6,394 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,178 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,394 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth $126,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $110.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush cut their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

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.