Insider Selling: Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) EVP Sells 250 Shares of Stock

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) EVP Sara Kelly sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.63, for a total value of $23,157.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,924 shares in the company, valued at $4,346,570.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Sara Kelly also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 21st, Sara Kelly sold 250 shares of Starbucks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.86, for a total value of $23,465.00.
• On Monday, January 22nd, Sara Kelly sold 250 shares of Starbucks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.78, for a total value of $23,445.00.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.3 %

SBUX opened at $91.50 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a 12 month low of $89.21 and a 12 month high of $115.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.19. The stock has a market cap of $103.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The coffee company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $9.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 11.70% and a negative return on equity of 50.76%. Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 4.06 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 issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $1,240,652,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 115,334.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,493,639 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $842,569,000 after buying an additional 8,486,281 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,718,368 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,650,462,000 after buying an additional 8,451,599 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,373,017 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,961,751,000 after buying an additional 3,459,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 8,677.8% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,715,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $260,706,000 after buying an additional 2,684,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Starbucks from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $103.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Starbucks from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.05.

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.