Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Price Target Lowered to $94.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $100.00 to $94.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the coffee company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SBUX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Starbucks from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Starbucks from $106.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $107.43.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $85.42. 8,866,426 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,390,786. The company has a market cap of $96.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.53. Starbucks has a 1-year low of $84.29 and a 1-year high of $115.48.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.02). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 50.76% and a net margin of 11.70%. The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 84,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,912,906.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,665 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 107,933,270 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $10,362,673,000 after buying an additional 1,041,622 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,120,185 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $4,594,235,000 after acquiring an additional 135,644 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $2,650,462,000 after acquiring an additional 8,451,599 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,217,752 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $1,388,924,000 after acquiring an additional 232,031 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,652,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.