Cohen Klingenstein LLC Sells 12,100 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cohen Klingenstein LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 40.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 12,100 shares during the period. Cohen Klingenstein LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1,491.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $95.13 on Friday. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.38.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SBUX. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 $103.92.

Starbucks Company 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.