S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,912 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 3,397 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% in the third quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,200 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 4.3% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ SBUX traded down $1.14 on Wednesday, hitting $85.99. 4,333,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,335,303. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $85.60 and a fifty-two week high of $115.48. The company has a market cap of $97.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.75.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SBUX shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

About Starbucks

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.