Royal Fund Management LLC Has $3.35 Million Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Royal Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,964 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBUX. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,470 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 432.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,039,633 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $195,825,000 after buying an additional 1,656,591 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at $147,125,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,146,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $493,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, William Blair cut Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

SBUX traded down $1.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.11. The company had a trading volume of 22,153,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,146. The company has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a one year low of $72.67 and a one year high of $108.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

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.