Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Stock Position Trimmed by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments trimmed its Starbucks position by 4.4% in the second quarter, selling 13,500 shares and retaining 295,201 shares worth approximately $30.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 72.29% of the company.
• Starbucks reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, beating the $0.66 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $9.32 billion but declined 1.4% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.55–$2.65.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $111.96 price target; shares recently opened at $105.58. Starbucks also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,201 shares of the coffee company's stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Starbucks were worth $30,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,149,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $875,000. Third View Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,135,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Starbucks by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 88,374 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $7,442,000 after buying an additional 23,589 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 94,260 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $7,938,000 after buying an additional 45,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank lowered Starbucks from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Starbucks from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.96.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $105.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.55. The stock has a market cap of $120.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.68, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.97. Starbucks Corporation has a one year low of $77.99 and a one year high of $109.23.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.19. Starbucks had a net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. The business had revenue of $9.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total value of $236,251.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,135 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,558.65. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,687 shares of company stock worth $681,663. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Starbucks Company 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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