Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by Cohen Klingenstein LLC

Cohen Klingenstein LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 40.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,000 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 12,100 shares during the quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 119,488 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $10,903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,666 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 12,157 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 7,507 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Starbucks by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,653 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,361,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,453. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.60. The stock has a market cap of $107.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.