American Century Companies Inc. Sells 551,179 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 84.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,987 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 551,179 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter worth $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 125.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 285.4% during the first quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group set a $94.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.44.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $85.00 on Friday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.12 and its 200 day moving average is $87.68.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company had revenue of $9.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 151.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 11,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at $4,513,160. This trade represents a 28.26% increase 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 hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.