Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Down 1.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) were down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after HSBC lowered their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $84.00. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock. Starbucks traded as low as $73.74 and last traded at $73.75. Approximately 5,875,128 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 9,268,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.93.

SBUX has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 541,318 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $49,471,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its stake in Starbucks by 27.7% in the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,141 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 71.7% in the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 11,485 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 4,797 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Starbucks by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 195,519 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $17,868,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,757 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm 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 posted $0.74 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

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.