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

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 2nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%.

Starbucks has increased its dividend 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% indicating that 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 Trading Up 1.2 %

Starbucks stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.41. The company had a trading volume of 5,955,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,097,549. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.54.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.12.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Starbucks stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 86.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,722 shares of the coffee company's stock after buying an additional 81,952 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $16,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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