Hendershot Investments Inc. Cuts Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Hendershot Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,118 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,982 shares during the quarter. Starbucks accounts for approximately 1.5% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $11,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 24,310 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,206 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,961 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Starbucks by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,460 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased 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. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $112.20 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $112.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.12 and a 200 day moving average of $94.57. The company has a market capitalization of $127.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 78.71%.

Starbucks 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.