Wedbush Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Wedbush reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $81.00 price objective on the coffee company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. DZ Bank cut shares of Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $94.54.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $77.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.66 and a 200-day moving average of $87.95. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.80 and a 12-month high of $107.66.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,750 shares of company stock valued at $878,893. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.