Tremblant Capital Group Decreases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Tremblant Capital Group reduced its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 7.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 332,334 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 25,139 shares during the quarter. Starbucks makes up about 2.9% of Tremblant Capital Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Tremblant Capital Group’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $28,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Starbucks by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,596,931,000 after purchasing an additional 577,279 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Starbucks by 11.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,229,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774,198 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,720,137 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $6,575,430,000 after buying an additional 1,462,874 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,513,332 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,353,647,000 after buying an additional 544,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,691,772 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,243,104,000 after buying an additional 2,699,479 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Turnaround momentum: analysts and some prominent investors are calling Starbucks a recovery story after recent operational changes and a more generous rewards program that appears to be boosting demand. Josh Brown names SBUX a top stock
• Positive Sentiment: Customer loyalty actions: Starbucks revamped its rewards program to drive frequency and AUV recovery — a potential tailwind for same‑store sales if sustained. Rewards program update
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and governance items: the company will webcast its March 25 annual meeting (forum for investor questions), and the CEO made small disclosed stock sales (minor ownership reduction). These are informational but not immediate operational catalysts. Annual meeting webcast SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy‑advisor warnings: two proxy advisory firms flagged that Starbucks may be under‑estimating the financial and reputational risks from persistent labor disputes — a governance red flag that can pressure the stock and complicate investor support. Reuters: proxy firms warn Starbucks Seeking Alpha: proxy firms warn
• Negative Sentiment: Union restarts and contract push: Starbucks Workers United submitted a detailed contract proposal seeking a $17 minimum start wage and 4% annual raises and is seeking to reopen bargaining — this raises the prospect of higher labor costs and renewed store‑level disruption. Yahoo Finance: union contract proposal CNBC: details of baristas’ asks
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst caution: coverage notes the union trying to restart talks and some firms moving to more cautious stances — near‑term investor anxiety over labor negotiations is weighing on the stock. TipRanks: union talks pressure stock WSJ: union seeks to reopen negotiations
• Negative Sentiment: PR/governance noise: founder Howard Schultz’s relocation and related publicity about state tax policy add incremental governance/PR distraction during sensitive labor negotiations. Financial Post: Schultz relocation coverage

Starbucks Trading Down 1.0%

SBUX stock opened at $99.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $112.96 billion, a PE ratio of 81.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.93. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.50 and a 12 month high of $104.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.30.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,789,226.08. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $159,373.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,411,077.60. This represents a 1.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock worth $460,974. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks 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.