Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Downgraded to Market Perform at William Blair

William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an overweight rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $100.39.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $74.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.11. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $72.67 and a 52 week high of $114.56.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.10% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total value of $277,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at $6,933,582.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the third quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.