Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Cut to “Market Perform” at William Blair

William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SBUX. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.09.

Starbucks Stock Down 2.4 %

Starbucks stock opened at $73.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a 52-week low of $72.67 and a 52-week high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orca Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 15.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 7,619 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.