Everence Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,792 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $41,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 39.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $92.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.72%.

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.