Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.77.

Several equities analysts have commented on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,974,407 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,482,045,000 after acquiring an additional 437,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,277,756 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,358,464,000 after purchasing an additional 333,004 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 100.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,476,967,000 after buying an additional 7,598,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,762,684 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,146,744,000 after buying an additional 327,734 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $92.84 on Wednesday. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.46 and its 200 day moving average is $90.86.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

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.