Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 143,547 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,605,461 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 143,547 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $233,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,126,000 after buying an additional 81,952 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Starbucks by 47.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,642 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth $288,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Starbucks by 92.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,225 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 112,710 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,328,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Starbucks from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore upped their price target on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.92.

Starbucks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks is reportedly developing in-house AI tools that could replace third-party software, potentially lowering its software and operating expenses and improving margins. Starbucks Stock Rises Amid In-House Software Push
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by the idea that Starbucks can use AI to reduce reliance on outside vendors, supporting a broader cost-reduction initiative and possible earnings leverage over time. Starbucks Targets $400 Million Software Spend With AI Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary has also kept focus on Starbucks’ improving traffic, loyalty growth, and turnaround efforts, which has helped sustain bullish sentiment near the stock’s recent highs. Starbucks Near Its 52-Week High: Can the Stock Sustain the Rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. The sale is not necessarily a negative signal, but investors may still note the insider transaction. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks remains near its 52-week high after a strong run, which can attract momentum buyers but also raises valuation concerns for some investors. Starbucks Near Its 52-Week High: Can the Stock Sustain the Rally?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $231,816.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,045,856. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,275 shares of company stock worth $947,833 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $106.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.42 and a 200-day moving average of $97.01. The stock has a market cap of $121.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.99 and a 52-week high of $108.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 187.88%.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.