Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 33.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,726 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,381 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Starbucks by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,757 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in Starbucks by 2.7% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 195,519 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $17,868,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 71.7% in the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 11,485 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 4,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 27.7% during the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,141 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.03 on Tuesday. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $107.66. The company has a market capitalization of $109.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.53.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBUX. DZ Bank cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Baird R W raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.32.

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.