Starbucks announces 2-for-1 stock split

SEATTLE, March 18 (UPI) -- Starbucks Corporation announced a two-for-one stock split at its annual shareholder's meeting in Seattle Wednesday. Its first stock split since 2005, the coffee company said shareholders, as of March 30, will receive an additional share of stock for each share owned, with new shares payable April 8 and trading on a split-adjusted basis April. 9.

The stock is currently trading in the $94 range, and a split will make the price lower but the number of shares more plentiful.

Chairman Howard Schultz, in announcing the split, called it "a direct reflection of the past seven years of increasing shareholder value, enhancing the liquidity of our shares, and building an attractive share price. It also takes place at a time when Starbucks shareholders are experiencing an all-time high in value."

Starbucks stock has split six times since it became a public company 23 years ago.