Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the coffee company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Starbucks from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Starbucks from $112.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Cowen boosted their target price on Starbucks from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Starbucks from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.74.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.7 %

SBUX stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $98.70. 10,189,661 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,343,857. The stock has a market cap of $113.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.94. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $110.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.22.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The coffee company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.78 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 10.09% and a negative return on equity of 39.78%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $77,648.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,910,954. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $77,648.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,910,954. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Zabrina Jenkins sold 2,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.48, for a total transaction of $321,317.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,150,227.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,658 shares of company stock valued at $820,706. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 4.7% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 11.4% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 149,118 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $12,565,000 after acquiring an additional 15,212 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Starbucks by 55.2% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 11,173 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its position in Starbucks by 24.9% in the second quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 42,692 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,262,000 after acquiring an additional 8,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Starbucks by 1.1% during the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 69,744 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $5,877,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. 69.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Starbucks

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Starbucks Corp. engages in the production, marketing, and retailing of specialty coffee. It operates through the following segments: North America, International, Channel Development, and Corporate and Other. The North America segment focuses on the United States and Canada. The International segment is involved in China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean.