Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $109.83 and last traded at $109.7860, with a volume of 235194 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SBUX. Robert W. Baird set a $124.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Starbucks from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Starbucks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.92.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.24 and a 200 day moving average of $99.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.12, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $9.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. Analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 142.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total transaction of $236,251.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,963,558.65. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,687 shares of company stock worth $681,663 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new position in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $875,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Starbucks by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 88,374 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,442,000 after buying an additional 23,589 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Starbucks by 94.5% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 94,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,938,000 after buying an additional 45,794 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Starbucks by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 518,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $43,655,000 after buying an additional 87,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth about $1,232,650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.