Rachel Ruggeri Sells 3,750 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Starbucks Price Performance

SBUX stock opened at $78.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.79. Starbucks Co. has a 52-week low of $71.80 and a 52-week high of $107.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

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.