Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lowered its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,101 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 56,146 shares during the period. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $9,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 270.3% in the second quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,601,700. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 59,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,789,226.08. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock valued at $460,974 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBUX. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 30th. New Street Research set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $99.15 on Friday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $104.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.28 and its 200 day moving average is $88.32. The stock has a market cap of $112.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.93.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for 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 posted $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.