Howard Capital Management Group LLC Sells 200 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC decreased its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,166 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after buying an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,491.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,808,571 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $256,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SBUX. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $97.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.84. The firm has a market cap of $111.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.99. Starbucks Co. has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

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.