Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,410 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 18,888 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,126,000 after purchasing an additional 81,952 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,595,000. Finally, Bell Bank raised its holdings in Starbucks by 24.3% during the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 5,026 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 11,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $994,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $92.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $117.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm had revenue of $9.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 151.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, December 1st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.56.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.