Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 0.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,995 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Starbucks comprises approximately 1.0% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $6,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Starbucks by 3.4% during the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,151 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush dropped their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $102.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $97.63 and its 200-day moving average is $87.93. Starbucks Co. has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.