Starbucks Co. (SBUX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.61 on May 30th

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 2nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.61 per share by the coffee company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th.

Starbucks has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Starbucks has a payout ratio of 67.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Starbucks to earn $3.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.7%.

Starbucks Trading Down 11.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $88.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.46. Starbucks has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $100.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Starbucks stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 86.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,952 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $16,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.12.

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.