Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,649,493 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $206,279,000 after purchasing an additional 207,156 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 13.7% in the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 2,704 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 4.1% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,848 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $77,916,000 after acquiring an additional 38,961 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 154,017 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $11,990,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 115,435 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $8,987,000 after acquiring an additional 9,753 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $95.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.89 and a 200-day moving average of $91.38.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

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.