Sargent Investment Group LLC Sells 1,252 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sargent Investment Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,663 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,252 shares during the quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $110.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.85. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $111.07. The firm has a market cap of $125.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Bank of America reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.33.

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.