Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Sells 674 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 674 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $2,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 5,033 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. raised its stake in Starbucks by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 40,088 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Omega Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC now owns 3,613 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,264,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,839,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,330,549. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $90.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.60.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

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.