Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Sold by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 18.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,655 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,766 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 112,059,570 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,991,923,000 after buying an additional 953,361 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,904,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545,655 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,379,619,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 59.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,623,282 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $943,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,537 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth $817,759,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $86.42 on Wednesday. Starbucks Corporation has a twelve month low of $75.50 and a twelve month high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $98.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.56.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.41 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 4.99% and a negative return on equity of 31.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 151.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital set a $165.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.50.

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.