Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Starbucks stake by 65.4% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 170,907 shares worth approximately $15.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.29% of the company.
• Starbucks reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $9.32 billion, beating analyst expectations, while global comparable-store sales rose 7.9%.
• The company raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.55–$2.65 and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share. Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $109.42.

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 65.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,907 shares of the coffee company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,569 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $15,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,232,650,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,725,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $7,135,228,000 after buying an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 146.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $553,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596,014 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Starbucks by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,532,627 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $381,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Starbucks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Global comparable-store sales rose 7.9%, driven primarily by a 4.2% increase in comparable transactions, indicating stronger customer traffic as well as improved spending per visit. Starbucks Reports Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings reached $0.85 per share, exceeding consensus estimates near $0.65-$0.66, while revenue of approximately $9.32 billion also topped forecasts. Reported GAAP EPS was $0.91, up sharply from the prior year. Starbucks Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.55-$2.65 from $2.25-$2.45 and set a 6% global comparable-sales growth target. The outlook is above the roughly $2.39 analyst consensus. Starbucks Raises Its Full-Year Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: North American revenue increased 7% to $7.4 billion, while international margins improved, reinforcing expectations that operational improvements can support earnings growth. Starbucks Q3 Comparable Sales Rise 7.9%

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BTIG Research cut shares of Starbucks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $231,816.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,045,856. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,687 shares of company stock valued at $679,033. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $104.14 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.92. The stock has a market cap of $118.69 billion, a PE ratio of 78.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $109.23.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.19. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 29.24% and a net margin of 3.89%.The company had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Starbucks's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Starbucks's payout ratio is currently 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.

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