MML Investors Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 518,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 46,560 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $43,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,596,931,000 after purchasing an additional 577,279 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 33.5% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,193 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 19,877 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at $1,149,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 299,833 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,249,000 after acquiring an additional 11,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp bought a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $8,811,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.93.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $101.59 on Tuesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.83. The company has a market cap of $115.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.96, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 29.24% and a net margin of 3.89%.The business had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 187.88%.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks included Starbucks on its list of top income stocks, suggesting some analysts still view the shares favorably despite near-term noise.
• Positive Sentiment: One recent analysis said Starbucks is seeing stronger traffic growth thanks to better service, faster operations, and improved customer experience initiatives, supporting the turnaround narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction. The sale was small and routine, so it is unlikely to be a major signal on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report noted Starbucks faces growing competition from 7 Brew, which is expanding quickly and could pressure traffic over time.
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks Korea is closing all locations early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training after a marketing backlash. The controversy has triggered boycotts, a public apology, an investigation, and renewed reputational risk for the brand. Starbucks Korea Shuts Stores Early After Boycott Hits Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports on the same South Korea issue suggest the fallout is severe enough to affect sentiment across the stock, since the controversy could hurt sales and distract management. Starbucks Korea to give staff history training after backlash over marketing campaign

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,053,565. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $58,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,959,300. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,687 shares of company stock worth $863,707. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.