Viking Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,000 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $91.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $104.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.66.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released 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 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America set a $114.00 target price on Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. William Blair raised Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the business’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 $159,373.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,411,077.60. The trade was a 1.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock valued at $460,974. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks 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.