Verity & Verity LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Verity & Verity LLC lowered its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 20.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,822 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 28,279 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $10,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 498.2% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $98.35. The stock had a trading volume of 8,241,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,120,848. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.62. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $105.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.81.

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.