Insider Selling: Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) CFO Sells 1,491 Shares of Stock

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total transaction of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $102.50 on Monday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.19. The firm has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Starbucks’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Starbucks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,199 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank grew its holdings in Starbucks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,250 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Starbucks by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SBUX. Robert W. Baird upgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.81.

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.