Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Given New $96.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $99.00 to $96.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the coffee company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SBUX. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DZ Bank cut Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.48.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $97.31 on Wednesday. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.03. The company has a market cap of $110.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. The company had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.16% and a negative return on equity of 49.38%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.22%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.50 per share, with a total value of $34,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,054 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,327.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,316,143. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,403,768 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,907,020,000 after buying an additional 470,498 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,720,903 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $678,923,000 after acquiring an additional 221,718 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 5,612,687 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $512,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897,282 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,412,603 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $495,145,000 after purchasing an additional 266,570 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 1st quarter valued at about $415,167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.