Associated Banc Corp Trims Stock Position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,940 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 4,194 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 498.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks 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 approximately $7,975,542.96. This trade 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $102.61. 990,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,018,819. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.19. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.