Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $1.30 Billion Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,229,449 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 3,935,784 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 1.25% of Starbucks worth $1,298,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $114.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $114.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Starbucks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.00.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $82.80 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $97.38 and its 200 day moving average is $97.96. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Starbucks's payout ratio is 78.71%.

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.

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