Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Increases Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 172.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 373,071 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,090 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $32,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,410,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,634,523,000 after purchasing an additional 971,773 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Starbucks by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,135,228,000 after purchasing an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,869,056 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,031,053,000 after purchasing an additional 327,161 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,373,084 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,212,153,000 after purchasing an additional 225,168 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 65.9% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research downgraded Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.42.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC said Starbucks’ fiscal Q3 North America same-store sales are likely to come in line with consensus, which could reassure investors that the U.S. business is stabilizing. Starbucks Fiscal Q3 North America Same-Store Sales Poised to be In-Line With Consensus, RBC Says
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains generally constructive, with several recent firms reiterating buy or overweight ratings and price targets clustering around levels near or above the current share price. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on These Consumer Cyclical Stocks: Starbucks (SBUX), Airbnb (ABNB) and Silgan Holdings (SLGN)
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks’ reaffirmed dividend and efforts to cut software costs by building more of its own tools with AI may support margins over time. What Starbucks (SBUX)’s Dividend Affirmation and Software Cost Cuts Mean For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks recently said it will release fiscal Q3 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention focused on a potential catalyst for the shares. Starbucks Announces Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Results Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks’ earnings preview suggests investors are waiting for confirmation that traffic, loyalty trends, and the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan are still improving. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Starbucks’ Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported that Starbucks defeated a shareholder lawsuit tied to sales declines in the U.S. and China, removing one legal overhang but not changing the core growth debate. Starbucks defeats shareholder lawsuit over US, China sales declines
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage highlights that opinions on Starbucks remain mixed, reflecting uncertainty about the pace of the turnaround and whether sales momentum can fully reaccelerate. Starbucks vs. McDonald’s: Which Restaurant Stock Has the Edge Now?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $231,816.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,364 shares in the company, valued at $8,045,856. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 8,687 shares of company stock valued at $889,033 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $105.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.92, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.83. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $77.99 and a 12 month high of $109.23.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 187.88%.

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.