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

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $115.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the coffee company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SBUX. UBS Group lifted their price target on Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $100.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $114.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.55.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,242 shares in the company, valued at $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 $6,503,747.36. The trade was a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,149,937 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,476,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,928,339,000 after buying an additional 7,015,375 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,466.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,350,932 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $260,870,000 after buying an additional 3,136,992 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $243,910,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $248,153,000 after buying an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.