Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sells Off Shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) recently sold shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX). In a filing disclosed on February 04th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Starbucks stock on January 9th.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 1/9/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 1/9/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) on 1/9/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) on 11/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) on 11/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of CocaCola (NYSE:KO) on 11/21/2025.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $99.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Starbucks Corporation has a 1-year low of $75.50 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.04 and its 200 day moving average is $87.25.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 28.66%. The business had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 204.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Aerodigm Wealth LLC boosted its position in Starbucks by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Aerodigm Wealth LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 13,516 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Starbucks by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 409 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opus Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Starbucks by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 11,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on SBUX shares. New Street Research set a $90.00 target price on Starbucks in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.67.

About Senator Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2031.

Whitehouse (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Rhode Island. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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.