ORG Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

ORG Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 55.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,662 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth $415,167,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Starbucks by 1,466.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $243,910,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its position in Starbucks by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $512,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $257,721,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $95.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.54.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,327.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Starbucks from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.16.

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.