Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Coverage Initiated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $115.00 price target on the coffee company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on SBUX. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.44. Starbucks has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $105.47. The firm has a market cap of $113.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company 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 company posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the first quarter worth about $371,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at $415,167,000. Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 3,468 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.