Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Has $9.28 Million Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,738 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,653 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 270.3% in the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 457.4% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,226.08. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $159,373.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,411,077.60. This represents a 1.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock worth $460,974. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Turnaround momentum: analysts and some prominent investors are calling Starbucks a recovery story after recent operational changes and a more generous rewards program that appears to be boosting demand. Josh Brown names SBUX a top stock
• Positive Sentiment: Customer loyalty actions: Starbucks revamped its rewards program to drive frequency and AUV recovery — a potential tailwind for same‑store sales if sustained. Rewards program update
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and governance items: the company will webcast its March 25 annual meeting (forum for investor questions), and the CEO made small disclosed stock sales (minor ownership reduction). These are informational but not immediate operational catalysts. Annual meeting webcast SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy‑advisor warnings: two proxy advisory firms flagged that Starbucks may be under‑estimating the financial and reputational risks from persistent labor disputes — a governance red flag that can pressure the stock and complicate investor support. Reuters: proxy firms warn Starbucks Seeking Alpha: proxy firms warn
• Negative Sentiment: Union restarts and contract push: Starbucks Workers United submitted a detailed contract proposal seeking a $17 minimum start wage and 4% annual raises and is seeking to reopen bargaining — this raises the prospect of higher labor costs and renewed store‑level disruption. Yahoo Finance: union contract proposal CNBC: details of baristas’ asks
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst caution: coverage notes the union trying to restart talks and some firms moving to more cautious stances — near‑term investor anxiety over labor negotiations is weighing on the stock. TipRanks: union talks pressure stock WSJ: union seeks to reopen negotiations
• Negative Sentiment: PR/governance noise: founder Howard Schultz’s relocation and related publicity about state tax policy add incremental governance/PR distraction during sensitive labor negotiations. Financial Post: Schultz relocation coverage

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $99.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.93. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $104.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.30.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.22.

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.