Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Shares Up 1.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock price shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $112.00 to $118.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Starbucks traded as high as $98.70 and last traded at $97.64. 2,939,579 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 11,858,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.12.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Starbucks from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.16, for a total value of $299,916.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,697,682.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total transaction of $305,597.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 75,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,327.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 190,335 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $18,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 240.4% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 20,617 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 14,561 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.67 and a 200-day moving average of $84.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Co. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.