Intech Investment Management LLC Has $8.29 Million Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its Starbucks stake by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 98,411 shares valued at about $8.29 million.
• Several other hedge funds remain heavily invested in Starbucks, and institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock, signaling broad professional interest despite mixed sentiment.
• Starbucks reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, while recent coverage suggests its turnaround plan is beginning to lift afternoon traffic; however, concerns remain over AI deployment issues and international brand challenges in markets like South Korea.

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 98,411 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 22,501 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Starbucks by 11.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 146.6% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $553,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596,014 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Starbucks by 22.5% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,691,772 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $1,243,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,699,479 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Starbucks by 80.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,105,164 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $433,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277,792 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Starbucks by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,720,137 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $6,575,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks said afternoon traffic is rising after its strategy shift, with visits after 2 p.m. improving as the company pushes new products and efforts to bring customers back into stores. Starbucks says afternoon traffic is rising as turnaround starts to take hold
• Positive Sentiment: Another report echoed the improving traffic trend, suggesting Starbucks’ turnaround plan may be starting to lift demand during traditionally slower afternoon hours. Starbucks sees a lift in afternoon traffic after a strategy shift
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks received a Zacks Strong Buy income-stock mention, which may help reinforce the bullish view that the stock remains attractive to some investors. Best Income Stocks to Buy for May 28th
• Neutral Sentiment: Alsea launched the first Starbucks Smart Lounge in Chile, expanding the brand’s footprint and adding a work-and-meeting format that could support future international growth. Alsea launches first Starbucks Smart Lounge in Chile
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks’ presentation at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference likely kept investors focused on management’s turnaround messaging, but it did not introduce a clearly new catalyst. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Starbucks quietly retired an AI inventory agent after it miscounted stock and slowed baristas may raise questions about the effectiveness of some of its operational technology investments. Starbucks quietly retired its AI agent just months after deployment after it hallucinated coffee shop inventories and slowed down baristas
• Negative Sentiment: Separate coverage on South Korea highlighted a sales drop and backlash tied to a marketing controversy, underscoring ongoing brand and international execution risks. Starbucks Suffers Significant Drop in Sales in South Korea
• Negative Sentiment: Another article said Starbucks’ South Korea backlash is testing international growth and governance controls, which could keep pressure on sentiment if the issue spreads or worsens. Starbucks South Korea Backlash Tests International Growth And Governance Controls

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SBUX. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Starbucks from a "sector perform" rating to a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total value of $233,621.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,548,198.79. This trade represents a 2.66% 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 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,111,085 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $99.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $113.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.12, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.01. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $77.99 and a 12-month high of $108.88. The business's 50 day moving average is $99.03 and its 200 day moving average is $93.77.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 29.24% and a net margin of 3.89%.Starbucks's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.