WT Wealth Management Acquires New Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Key Points

• WT Wealth Management opened a new Q4 position in Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) — 18,506 shares worth about $1.56 million — while other large institutions have also boosted holdings, leaving hedge funds and institutions with roughly 72.29% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment has firmed with several upgrades and higher price targets (William Blair, BTIG, Morgan Stanley, Evercore), giving the stock a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $106.93.
• Starbucks beat quarterly estimates with $0.50 EPS (vs. $0.44) and $9.53B revenue (vs. $9.17B), set FY2026 guidance of 2.250–2.450 EPS, and announced a $0.62 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.48, yield 2.4%).

WT Wealth Management bought a new position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 18,506 shares of the coffee company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company's stock worth $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased 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 last quarter. Capital International Investors increased 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Starbucks by 80.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,105,164 shares of the coffee company's stock valued at $433,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Starbucks by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,462,874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair raised Starbucks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Starbucks from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.93.

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $159,373.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,411,077.60. The trade was a 1.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,958 shares of company stock worth $877,464 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX opened at $104.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.55 billion, a PE ratio of 79.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.09. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.99 and a 52-week high of $107.52.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 29.24% and a net margin of 3.89%.The firm's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Starbucks's payout ratio 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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