Rydar Equities Inc. Sells 6,784 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Rydar Equities Inc. trimmed its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,474 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 6,784 shares during the period. Rydar Equities Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC grew its position in shares of Starbucks by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Completed China JV step with Boyu Capital — accelerates store growth target (up to 20,000 outlets), shifts thousands of company‑operated stores to a licensed model to scale faster and leverage local partner expertise, which investors view as a growth catalyst for revenue and footprint expansion. Starbucks completes JV deal with Boyu Capital in China
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. partner incentive, tipping and weekly pay changes — Starbucks rolled out a new performance‑based incentive program, expanded tipping channels and moved to weekly pay; investors see this as a retention and service‑quality lever that could stabilize traffic and improve speed‑of‑service. Starbucks rises as investors weigh new U.S. barista incentive plan and pay changes
• Positive Sentiment: Menu complexity trimmed by ~25% — management is simplifying SKUs to speed service, reduce costs and protect margins, a move seen as practical for improving throughput and same‑store economics. Starbucks Cuts Menu Complexity by 25%: Smart Simplification Move?
• Positive Sentiment: Nostalgia and product marketing — Starbucks is reintroducing viral/nostalgic beverages (e.g., Unicorn, S’mores Frappuccino) and pushing new “energy refresher” SKUs; these low‑capex marketing/product moves can lift traffic and social buzz without heavy investment. Starbucks brings back two viral drinks not seen in nearly a decade
• Positive Sentiment: New energy refreshers (lower sugar/functional positioning) — product innovation aimed at health‑conscious and on‑the‑go consumers could broaden purchase occasions and margins. “Caffeine From Nature”: Starbucks Stock (NASDAQ:SBUX) Blasts Up on Energy Refreshers
• Neutral Sentiment: Licensed model in China has mixed valuation implications — shifting ~8,000 stores to licensing (and transferring a 60% stake in China retail ops) speeds expansion and reduces capital needs but changes profit recognition and could complicate near‑term margins and valuation comparables. Investors are weighing growth vs. altered profitability profile. Starbucks China Shift To Licensed Stores Raises Questions On Growth And Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: External critiques of strategy/partnerships — some analyses compare recent moves to retail/partner mistakes that could signal execution risk; monitor execution in China and U.S. operations for evidence these initiatives drive sustainable sales and margin improvement. Analysis: Target repeats Starbucks’ big mistake

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $58,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,601,700. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the 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 $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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,729 shares of company stock worth $460,974 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $94.78 on Tuesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $104.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.98 billion, a PE ratio of 78.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.11.

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

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.