Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 34,768 Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 34,768 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,928,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,232,650,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 11.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,447,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,637,704,000 after acquiring an additional 7,725,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,135,228,000 after acquiring an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $553,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596,014 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.93.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total transaction of $233,621.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,548,198.79. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This 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 sold 8,687 shares of company stock worth $863,707 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks is accelerating expansion in India, with plans to open about 100 new stores a year. That suggests management still sees strong long-term demand in a key international market and reinforces the company’s global growth story. Starbucks Plans Faster India Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Retail-sales data continued to look solid, and Starbucks was highlighted as one of the stocks that could benefit from robust consumer demand and improving earnings expectations. 5 Stocks to Grab as Retail Sales Continue to Surge on Robust Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Another market piece also flagged Starbucks among names to watch as retail sales stay resilient, which can support the stock by signaling that consumer spending on coffee and drinks remains healthy. 5 Stocks to Grab as Retail Sales Continue to Surge on Robust Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Starbucks’s store closures suggests the company is pursuing a broader reset, trimming some locations while investing in café upgrades and operational changes. Investors may view this as a long-term brand refresh, but it also shows the turnaround is still in progress. The Real Reason Starbucks Is Closing Stores
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading updates noted Starbucks underperformed peers and fell on the prior session, reflecting some near-term pressure despite the longer-term growth narrative. Starbucks Corp. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary focused on Starbucks trading lower versus the broader market, which may have weighed on sentiment heading into today. Starbucks (SBUX) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $114.71 billion, a PE ratio of 76.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.99 and a fifty-two week high of $108.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.13.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 187.88%.

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.