Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,414,980 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 113,876 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Starbucks worth $216,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,232,650,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,447,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,637,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,725,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Starbucks by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,135,228,000 after purchasing an additional 7,007,268 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 146.6% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $553,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Starbucks by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,532,627 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $381,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647,292 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Starbucks’ 39% year-over-year growth in Channel Development revenue in Q2, suggesting the company is finding a new growth lever beyond company-operated stores through packaged coffee and ready-to-drink products. Can Starbucks’ 39% Channel Development Growth Add a New Revenue Lever?
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Starbucks’ turnaround and AI-driven cost savings points to management efforts to cut software expenses and improve efficiency, which could support margins over time. Starbucks Is Serving Up Your Coffee with a Side of AI. What That Means for SBUX Stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer’s remarks centered on Starbucks’ ongoing turnaround, keeping attention on the company’s recovery narrative and potential for improved investor sentiment. Jim Cramer Shares Why Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) Went “Nuts”

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SBUX. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $106.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $102.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.47.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 187.88%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $231,816.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,045,856. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,053,565. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,275 shares of company stock valued at $947,833. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.