Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Up 1.5%

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.80 and last traded at $73.59. 5,950,420 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 9,665,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Starbucks from $120.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Starbucks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $85.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.57 per share. 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 3.03%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 62.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Poehling Capital Management INC. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth $1,612,000. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 34.0% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 78,526 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,176,000 after purchasing an additional 19,920 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 122,923.6% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 1,446,758 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $132,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,582 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its holdings in Starbucks by 389.5% during the 1st quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 68,703 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after purchasing an additional 54,668 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Starbucks by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 148,302 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $13,553,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.