Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price Down 0.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock price was down 0.7% on Thursday after HSBC lowered their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $84.00. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock. Starbucks traded as low as $73.35 and last traded at $73.90. Approximately 8,871,633 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 9,120,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.44.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on SBUX. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair lowered shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,015 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 4,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 8,668 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 30,082 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.34 and a 200-day moving average of $93.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.38% and a negative return on equity of 49.91%. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Starbucks Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.81%.

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.