Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Trading Down 1.5%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SBUX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair downgraded shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on Starbucks from $107.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $89.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.87.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share 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 $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,750 shares of company stock valued at $642,050. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth $1,240,652,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter valued at approximately $415,167,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in Starbucks by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897,282 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,721,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 2,624.3% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,150,309 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $196,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,378 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is 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.