Waycross Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Waycross Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,899 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 16,674 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up approximately 2.2% of Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $11,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $88.49. The stock had a trading volume of 14,368,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,439,514. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.17 and a 200 day moving average of $94.25. The stock has a market cap of $100.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $84.29 and a 52-week high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.13). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SBUX shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.55.

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.