Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339,737 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 14,413 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $31,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $1,244,812,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $2,292,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $256,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $10,138,442,000 after purchasing an additional 784,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.05. 1,800,952 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,448,323. The company has a market cap of $96.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.79.

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Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SBUX shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W downgraded Starbucks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.68.

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.