E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Sells 1,272 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,326 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,272 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 133.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.68. The stock had a trading volume of 18,435,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,976,489. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $71.80 and a 1-year high of $108.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.39.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush lowered their target price on Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.