Insider Selling: Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Sells 588 Shares of Stock

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,601,700. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Brady Brewer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of Starbucks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $159,373.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX traded up $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.47. 8,814,939 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,598,015. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.03. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $104.82. The firm has a market cap of $115.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.86, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 3.63%.The company had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management opened a new Nashville supply‑chain/corporate hub to centralize North American distribution and improve store inventory flow; this is presented as part of the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround to lower costs and support execution. Starbucks Nashville Office Reshapes Supply Chain And Turnaround Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: New Starbucks rewards changes are gaining traction and have been cited as lifting U.S. transactions and comps, supporting revenue recovery and customer frequency. Starbucks Stock (NASDAQ:SBUX) Gains as New Rewards Program Takes Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in February (roughly a 14.8% decline between mid‑month and end‑month), which can reduce near‑term downside pressure from short covering dynamics.
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks will webcast its 2026 Annual Meeting (virtual) on March 25; procedural but relevant for governance/strategy updates and any shareholder votes. Starbucks to Webcast 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Howard Schultz’s high‑profile move to Miami drew media attention—largely a personal/PR story that may prompt headlines but has limited direct operational impact. As Starbucks’ Howard Schultz heads to Miami, here’s a list of other billionaire business leaders moving to Florida
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research downgraded SBUX to Peer Perform (from Outperform), highlighting execution risk in a multi‑year turnaround; that note can cap multiple expansion and weigh on sentiment. Wolfe Research Turns Neutral on Starbucks (SBUX) amid Competitive Coffee Market
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed: CEO Brady Brewer sold ~1,641 shares (filed with the SEC), and an EVP also sold shares — not unusual but can be perceived negatively by some investors. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Sells $159,373.92 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Media pieces noting the ad campaign underperformance and competition (including calls to buy rival coffee names) create near‑term narrative headwinds that can temper investor conviction. “The Magic of Coffee”: Starbucks Stock (NASDAQ:SBUX) Slips Despite New Ad Campaign
• Negative Sentiment: There’s some PR/regulatory sensitivity after public criticism about sugar in seasonal drinks — a potential reputational/regulatory risk that could affect product marketing. Starbucks Balances Nashville Supply Chain Push With Sugar Backlash Questions

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,232,650,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,447,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,637,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,725,547 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,135,228,000 after purchasing an additional 7,007,268 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 146.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $553,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.22.

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.