Swiss National Bank Sells 105,700 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,581,700 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 105,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.32% of Starbucks worth $343,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,706,000 after buying an additional 2,684,470 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Starbucks by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after buying an additional 1,591,206 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after buying an additional 1,281,471 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 32.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,679,621 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $427,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. William Blair downgraded shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.39.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $74.59. The stock had a trading volume of 14,574,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,205,755. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.76 and a 200 day moving average of $94.11. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $72.67 and a twelve month high of $109.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 50.10%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

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.