MML Investors Services LLC Has $43.66 Million Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Key Points

• MML Investors Services LLC reduced its Starbucks stake by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 46,560 shares and ending with 518,405 shares valued at about $43.66 million.
• Starbucks reported a solid quarterly beat, posting $0.50 EPS on $9.53 billion in revenue, both above estimates, while raising FY2026 guidance to 2.25-2.45 EPS.
• Despite some positive analyst sentiment, Starbucks is facing mixed signals from insider selling and reputational issues, including boycott-related backlash in South Korea and a small wave of recent executive stock sales.

MML Investors Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 518,405 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 46,560 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $43,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $9,596,931,000 after purchasing an additional 577,279 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,193 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 19,877 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,149,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Starbucks by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 299,833 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at $8,811,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks included Starbucks on its list of top income stocks, suggesting some analysts still view the shares favorably despite near-term noise.
• Positive Sentiment: One recent analysis said Starbucks is seeing stronger traffic growth thanks to better service, faster operations, and improved customer experience initiatives, supporting the turnaround narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction. The sale was small and routine, so it is unlikely to be a major signal on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report noted Starbucks faces growing competition from 7 Brew, which is expanding quickly and could pressure traffic over time.
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks Korea is closing all locations early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training after a marketing backlash. The controversy has triggered boycotts, a public apology, an investigation, and renewed reputational risk for the brand. Starbucks Korea Shuts Stores Early After Boycott Hits Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports on the same South Korea issue suggest the fallout is severe enough to affect sentiment across the stock, since the controversy could hurt sales and distract management. Starbucks Korea to give staff history training after backlash over marketing campaign

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total value of $233,621.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,548,198.79. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. 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 worth $863,707 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.93.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.4%

SBUX stock opened at $101.59 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $100.50 and its 200 day moving average is $94.83. The stock has a market cap of $115.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a 1-year low of $77.99 and a 1-year high of $108.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. Starbucks's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 187.88%.

Starbucks Profile

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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