Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.61

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 2nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.61 per share by the coffee company on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%.

Starbucks has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Starbucks has a payout ratio of 67.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Starbucks to earn $3.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.7%.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,955,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,097,549. Starbucks has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $117.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.54. The company has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Starbucks stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 86.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 81,952 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $16,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SBUX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.12.

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.