Starbucks Co. (SBUX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.61 on February 28th

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.61 per share by the coffee company on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th.

Starbucks has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Starbucks has a payout ratio of 77.5% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Starbucks to earn $3.70 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 65.9%.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $97.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.25. Starbucks has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $103.32.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The business had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SBUX shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,975,542.96. This trade represents a 1.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Company Profile

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.