Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Lowered to Market Perform at William Blair

William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $102.00 to $90.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $100.39.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $74.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.11. Starbucks has a 1 year low of $72.67 and a 1 year high of $114.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.10% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% during the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.