National Pension Service Has $227.11 Million Stake in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,696,899 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125,412 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $227,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SBUX. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total transaction of $233,621.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,548,198.79. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,111,085 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Starbucks Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Starbucks stock opened at $99.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.01 billion, a PE ratio of 75.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.03 and its 200 day moving average is $93.77. Starbucks Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 187.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SBUX. BTIG Research lowered shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.48.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks said afternoon traffic is rising after its strategy shift, with visits after 2 p.m. improving as the company pushes new products and efforts to bring customers back into stores. Starbucks says afternoon traffic is rising as turnaround starts to take hold
• Positive Sentiment: Another report echoed the improving traffic trend, suggesting Starbucks’ turnaround plan may be starting to lift demand during traditionally slower afternoon hours. Starbucks sees a lift in afternoon traffic after a strategy shift
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks received a Zacks Strong Buy income-stock mention, which may help reinforce the bullish view that the stock remains attractive to some investors. Best Income Stocks to Buy for May 28th
• Neutral Sentiment: Alsea launched the first Starbucks Smart Lounge in Chile, expanding the brand’s footprint and adding a work-and-meeting format that could support future international growth. Alsea launches first Starbucks Smart Lounge in Chile
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks’ presentation at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference likely kept investors focused on management’s turnaround messaging, but it did not introduce a clearly new catalyst. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Starbucks quietly retired an AI inventory agent after it miscounted stock and slowed baristas may raise questions about the effectiveness of some of its operational technology investments. Starbucks quietly retired its AI agent just months after deployment after it hallucinated coffee shop inventories and slowed down baristas
• Negative Sentiment: Separate coverage on South Korea highlighted a sales drop and backlash tied to a marketing controversy, underscoring ongoing brand and international execution risks. Starbucks Suffers Significant Drop in Sales in South Korea
• Negative Sentiment: Another article said Starbucks’ South Korea backlash is testing international growth and governance controls, which could keep pressure on sentiment if the issue spreads or worsens. Starbucks South Korea Backlash Tests International Growth And Governance Controls

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.