Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Price Target Raised to $115.00

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $101.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks has a one year low of $71.55 and a one year high of $103.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.50 and its 200 day moving average is $87.74.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 380 shares of Starbucks 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,316,143. This trade represents a 1.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Starbucks by 100.6% during 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 buying an additional 7,598,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 55.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,779,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,928,339,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015,375 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,136,992 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $243,910,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1,078.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,545,419 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $248,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329,431 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.