Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Trading Down 1.5%

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock price dropped 1.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $79.32 and last traded at $79.48. Approximately 3,885,522 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 10,154,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

Starbucks Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.14. The firm has a market cap of $88.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $322,675 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Orca Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after buying an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 15.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 7,619 shares in the last quarter. Summa Corp. acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.