Lafayette Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,904 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 5,946 shares during the quarter. Starbucks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $5,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,410,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,634,523,000 after purchasing an additional 971,773 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Starbucks by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,229,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774,198 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,135,228,000 after buying an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,869,056 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,031,053,000 after buying an additional 327,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,373,084 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,212,153,000 after buying an additional 225,168 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total value of $233,621.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,548,198.79. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% 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 90 days, insiders sold 8,687 shares of company stock valued at $863,707. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $104.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $77.99 and a 12 month high of $108.88.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 187.88%.

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.