Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,710 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,440 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,710 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth $243,910,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Starbucks by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,475,156 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $348,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,847 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $98.80 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The company has a market capitalization of $111.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.86.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

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.