Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 201,800 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 121,300 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 201,800 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $11,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 valued at $1,476,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $126,574,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $107.68 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.11. The firm has a market cap of $122.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $110.34.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.30%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.71%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

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.