Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Sold by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 622,473 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 19,621 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Starbucks worth $56,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,106,209 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $10,138,442,000 after acquiring an additional 784,432 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,128,649 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,292,989,000 after buying an additional 5,348,790 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,826,001 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $2,259,516,000 after acquiring an additional 548,245 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Starbucks by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,868,817 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,448,030,000 after acquiring an additional 718,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $1,244,812,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SBUX. Barclays increased their price objective on Starbucks from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Starbucks from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wedbush upped their price target on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.24.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.50. 9,784,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,492,765. The stock has a market cap of $92.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $99.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.26. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current 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 yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.71%.

Starbucks 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.