World Investment Advisors Boosts Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 86,981 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 5,635 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 433,112 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $36,576,000 after purchasing an additional 13,262 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $6,099,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $3,491,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Starbucks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,596,931,000 after acquiring an additional 577,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 346.6% during the third quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 17,833 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $106.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $116.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel reaffirmed a bullish view on Starbucks and raised its price target, signaling continued Wall Street confidence in the company’s recovery and earnings outlook. Stifel Reaffirms Bullish View on Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
• Positive Sentiment: Fast Company reported that Starbucks is opening hundreds of new stores, suggesting ongoing unit expansion and growth momentum despite broader retail concerns. Dollar Tree and Starbucks are suddenly opening hundreds of new stores as retail doom stories pile up
• Positive Sentiment: Tennessee lawmakers are debating a $30 million incentive package tied to Starbucks’ planned Nashville corporate office, which could support future investment and job creation. Tennessee lawmakers debate $30M incentive deal with Starbucks
• Neutral Sentiment: Vornado’s refinancing of a Manhattan property fully leased to Starbucks is a credit/real estate update with limited direct impact on Starbucks’ operating outlook. Vornado JV Completes $161 Million Refinancing of 61 Ninth Avenue
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Starbucks cut 61 technology jobs in Seattle as part of a reorganization, highlighting cost pressure and operational restructuring. Starbucks cuts 61 technology jobs in Seattle
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that coffee prices keep rising and chains like Starbucks are absorbing more of the cost point to margin pressure if the company cannot pass inflation through to customers. Coffee prices keep rising, and chains like Dutch Bros are swallowing most of the costs
• Negative Sentiment: Articles comparing Starbucks with stronger-growth rivals like Dutch Bros suggest investors may be watching Starbucks’ growth story more skeptically, even after a rebound. Dutch Bros is quietly becoming an energy drink giant

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total transaction of $233,621.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,548,198.79. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $242,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,111,085. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $106.58 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.97. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.47 billion, a PE ratio of 80.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The business had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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