Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Macquarie from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.
Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SBUX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc upgraded shares of Starbucks Corp. from a "buy" rating to a "conviction-buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Starbucks Corp. in a research report on Sunday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank AG set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks Corp. and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 24th. Nomura restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks Corp. in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Finally, RBC Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks Corp. in a research report on Monday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $66.50.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) traded down 0.15% during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.90. 6,707,850 shares of the company's stock traded hands. The stock has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $56.00 and its 200-day moving average is $57.02. Starbucks Corp. has a 12 month low of $52.63 and a 12 month high of $64.00.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The coffee company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Starbucks Corp. had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 46.89%. The firm earned $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.34 billion. On average, analysts predict that Starbucks Corp. will post $1.89 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Starbucks Corp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.
In other news, Director Myron E. Ullman III sold 12,654 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.70, for a total transaction of $742,789.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,654 shares in the company, valued at $1,564,589.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.38% of the company's stock.
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks Corp. during the second quarter worth about $101,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks Corp. during the second quarter worth $107,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Starbucks Corp. by 0.3% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Livingston Group Asset Management CO operating as Southport Capital Management purchased a new position in Starbucks Corp. during the second quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Starbucks Corp. by 5.2% in the second quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.27% of the company's stock.
About Starbucks Corp.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is the roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee. The Company purchases and roasts coffees that it sells, along with coffee, tea and other beverages, and a range of fresh food items, through Company-operated stores. It also sells a range of coffee and tea products and licenses its trademarks through other channels, such as licensed stores, grocery and national foodservice accounts.