Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $90.13 and traded as high as $93.20. Starbucks shares last traded at $92.25, with a volume of 8,198,341 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.13. The company has a market capitalization of $104.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth $4,373,000. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,804 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,267,000. 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.