49,486 Shares in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Bought by Equitable Holdings Inc.

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 49,486 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,057,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Starbucks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Starbucks from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total transaction of $236,251.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,963,558.65. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,687 shares of company stock worth $681,663 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Robert W. Baird upgraded Starbucks to “strong buy,” signaling confidence in the company’s turnaround prospects and potentially supporting investor sentiment. Zacks report
• Positive Sentiment: Fall menu and marketing: Starbucks launched its seasonal menu, including the Pumpkin Spice Latte, supported by advertising featuring Martha Stewart. The promotion could drive customer traffic and strengthen seasonal sales. Starbucks launches fall menu Pumpkin Spice Latte advertising
• Positive Sentiment: Property transactions: A corporate Starbucks drive-thru in Jacksonville, Florida, was included in a $6.9 million pair of net-lease deals. While not a material financial event for Starbucks, the transaction highlights ongoing investor demand for Starbucks-occupied properties. Starbucks net-lease transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and operating backdrop: Starbucks recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but revenue declined year over year. With a relatively high earnings multiple, investors may require sustained improvement from the company’s turnaround plan.
• Negative Sentiment: Union-led boycott: Starbucks Workers United called for a boycott tied to stalled contract negotiations, seeking $17 hourly wages and a contract covering more than 12,000 baristas. The action presents near-term traffic, sales and reputational risks. Starbucks union boycott
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer caution: Reports questioning whether consumers are rethinking coffee purchases raise concerns about traffic and demand, particularly if customers trade down or reduce premium beverage spending. Consumer caution report
• Negative Sentiment: Turnaround costs: Additional job cuts as Starbucks expands its roughly $2 billion overhaul may pressure near-term morale and execution, even though management expects restructuring to improve efficiency over time. Starbucks job cuts and turnaround

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $107.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.73. The firm has a market cap of $122.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Corporation has a one year low of $77.99 and a one year high of $110.51.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 34.10% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.53%.

About Starbucks

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.