Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Reduces Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 31.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,920 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,318 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 270.3% during the second quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 457.4% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $93.66 on Wednesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 151.22%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $86.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.56.

Starbucks Profile

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.