Rachel Ruggeri Sells 1,491 Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Rachel Ruggeri also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 15th, Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of Starbucks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $143,849.64.

Starbucks Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of SBUX traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.50. 6,555,732 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,065,695. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.79. The firm has a market cap of $116.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 43,245 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after purchasing an additional 15,557 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $257,721,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Starbucks by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,414,404 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $129,262,000 after purchasing an additional 511,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the first quarter worth $136,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.