Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sells Off Shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) recently sold shares of Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX). In a filing disclosed on May 13th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Starbucks stock on April 11th.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) on 4/29/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) on 4/14/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 4/14/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 4/14/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) on 4/3/2025.

Starbucks Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $86.88 on Wednesday. Starbucks Co. has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.73. The company has a market cap of $98.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.41%.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Starbucks by 22.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,414,472 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,904,366,000 after buying an additional 3,545,655 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Starbucks by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 676,916 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $66,399,000 after acquiring an additional 109,951 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Family Trust acquired a new position in Starbucks during the first quarter worth about $717,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 72.6% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,674 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 13,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 26.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,150 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.72.

About Senator Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2031.

Whitehouse (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Rhode Island. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.