Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $98.53 and last traded at $98.85. 2,157,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 11,931,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Baird R W upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Starbucks from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.83.

Starbucks Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.92. The stock has a market cap of $111.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Starbucks news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,682.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,327.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,403,768 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,907,020,000 after purchasing an additional 470,498 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,652,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,359,790 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,090,654,000 after buying an additional 260,489 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $678,923,000 after buying an additional 221,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897,282 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.