Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 48.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,304,181 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 2,170,975 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.20% of Starbucks worth $225,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,403,768 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $9,907,020,000 after buying an additional 470,498 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Starbucks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $678,923,000 after buying an additional 221,718 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in Starbucks by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $512,943,000 after buying an additional 2,897,282 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $415,167,000. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in Starbucks by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 4,275,461 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $390,734,000 after buying an additional 544,644 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SBUX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.32.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total transaction of $299,916.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,860,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,444,304. The firm has a market cap of $112.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $107.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $95.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Starbucks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks's payout ratio is 73.72%.

Starbucks Company 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.