ING Groep NV Sells 970,166 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 90.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,130 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 970,166 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $99.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.45 and its 200 day moving average is $86.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

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.