Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New $22.76 Million Investment in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 222,749 shares of the coffee company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,763,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

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

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seasonal promotions are supporting the turnaround. Starbucks launched its fall menu and Pumpkin Spice Latte season, while the limited-time Unicorn Frappuccino reportedly generated the company’s highest sales weekend on record and lifted traffic 28.5% above a typical Saturday. New offerings, including the Blueberry Matcha Daily Fiber Bar, are also intended to drive visits and strengthen the “Back to Starbucks” strategy. Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino drives biggest sales weekend ever
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive. Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $124 price target, implying additional upside based on expectations for improved traffic, margin recovery and continued execution of the turnaround. Starbucks has also reported better-than-expected recent earnings and maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.55–$2.65. Baird sees upside for Starbucks
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate restructuring continues. Starbucks plans to eliminate more than 200 Seattle-area corporate positions and shift some roles to Nashville. The cuts could reduce costs and streamline operations, but they also highlight ongoing execution challenges and may create transition or morale risks. Starbucks is cutting more than 200 jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Labor conflict is the main near-term overhang. Starbucks Workers United is urging more than 12,000 unionized baristas and customers to boycott the chain during the Pumpkin Spice Latte launch until management reaches a contract agreement. The financial impact depends on participation, but a sustained boycott could undermine the traffic gains investors are watching and add reputational and labor costs. Starbucks union calls for boycott

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius Research set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC set a $120.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Starbucks from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.30.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.6%

SBUX stock opened at $105.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $120.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.59. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $77.99 and a 52 week high of $110.51.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 34.10% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is presently 142.53%.

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.