Jefferies Financial Group Trims Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Target Price to $94.00

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $100.00 to $94.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the coffee company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $107.43.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $87.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.14 and its 200-day moving average is $94.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $84.29 and a 12-month high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Starbucks will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $653,183. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,240,652,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 115,334.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,493,639 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $842,569,000 after purchasing an additional 8,486,281 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Starbucks by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,650,462,000 after purchasing an additional 8,451,599 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684,470 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $190,270,000. 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.