DNB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 411,540 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 53,989 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $34,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.48.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $106.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.01. Starbucks Corporation has a 1-year low of $77.99 and a 1-year high of $108.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.36.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 187.88%.

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear to like the cost-cutting focus, as the layoffs and office closures are intended to improve efficiency, support margin recovery, and help fund the company’s turnaround strategy. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment also remains supportive, with TD Cowen upgrading Starbucks to Buy and raising its price target, citing improving sales drivers, margin recovery, and multiple tangible catalysts for the comeback story. Analyst upgrade article
• Neutral Sentiment: The restructuring comes with a sizable estimated $400 million charge, which could weigh on near-term earnings even as management argues the actions will strengthen the business over time. New York Times article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading also reflects a broader re-rating of the stock, which has been pushing toward new highs as investors gain confidence in CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround plan. CNBC article
• Negative Sentiment: The job cuts and office closures also signal that the turnaround is still in progress, and the company may continue to face pressure from restructuring costs and execution risk before the benefits show up in results. Wall Street Journal article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total transaction of $233,621.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,548,198.79. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,111,085 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.