Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 1,248,225 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Nordea Investment Management AB cut its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,730,866 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,248,225 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $157,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $93.13 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.77. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The company has a market capitalization of $105.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease 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. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

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.