William Blair Lowers Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) to Market Perform

William Blair cut shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

SBUX has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $97.09.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $73.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a 1-year low of $72.67 and a 1-year high of $108.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal 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 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orca Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $148,567,000 after buying an additional 1,281,471 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 15.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 7,619 shares during the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.