GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,284 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 1,284 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.4% during the third quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,200 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 4.3% during the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,665 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $84.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.57. Starbucks Co. has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Starbucks from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.71.

About Starbucks

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.