Benjamin Edwards Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 53.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,233 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 48,466 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $4,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX stock opened at $107.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.79. Starbucks Corporation has a one year low of $77.99 and a one year 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,687 shares of company stock valued at $681,663. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Starbucks from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.30.

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.