Opes Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Opes Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,335 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 153.8% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $653,183. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $87.15. The stock had a trading volume of 11,400,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,411,019. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.47. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48. The company has a market cap of $98.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.96%.

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.