Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price Down 0.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell 0.7% during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $85.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Starbucks traded as low as $72.13 and last traded at $72.36. 6,086,727 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 9,528,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.90.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SBUX. DZ Bank downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Starbucks 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 107,933,270 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,362,673,000 after buying an additional 1,041,622 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Starbucks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,388,924,000 after purchasing an additional 232,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,240,652,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,367,331 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,091,378,000 after purchasing an additional 268,030 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,541,739 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $962,144,000 after buying an additional 1,115,051 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.53. The stock has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.63 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. 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.