Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Stake Reduced by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. cut its Starbucks stake by 8.5% in the first quarter, selling 33,559 shares and leaving it with 359,429 shares valued at about $32.2 million.
• Starbucks posted a solid earnings beat in its latest quarter, reporting $0.50 EPS versus $0.44 expected and revenue of $9.53 billion, up 8.8% year over year.
• The company remains active on shareholder returns and insider activity: it announced a $0.62 quarterly dividend, while executives Sara Kelly and Brady Brewer recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Conning Inc. lowered its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 359,429 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 33,559 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Starbucks were worth $32,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,232,650,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 65.9% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 7,725,547 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $7,135,228,000 after acquiring an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 146.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 80.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,105,164 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $433,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,792 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $106.01 on Friday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.88. The company has a market cap of $120.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.07.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 187.88%.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

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 value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at $6,053,565. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $231,816.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,045,856. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,275 shares of company stock worth $947,833. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks’ AI-driven software overhaul could materially reduce operating expenses by replacing Microsoft and IBM systems, supporting future margin expansion. Starbucks Builds Sovereign AI to Cut $400 Million in Software Costs
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth reinforce the view that its turnaround efforts are gaining traction. Starbucks earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks added five new Orange Cream drinks for summer, which may help traffic and seasonal sales but is not a major fundamental catalyst on its own. Starbucks adds 5 new Orange Cream drinks for summer
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which can prompt caution but does not necessarily signal a change in the business outlook. SEC Form 4 filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $108.92.

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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