Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the coffee company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Baird R W raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $102.46 on Tuesday. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $103.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.63 and its 200 day moving average is $87.93. The company has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Starbucks will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,648 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 498.2% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.