Banque Pictet & Cie SA Trims Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lowered its position in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,850 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,126,000 after purchasing an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 47.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,642 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $223,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,434,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,052,831 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $381,696,000 after buying an additional 433,786 shares during the period. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $159,373.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,411,077.60. The trade was a 1.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock worth $460,974. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SBUX. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Starbucks from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Starbucks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China JV closed with Boyu Capital — Starbucks finalized the joint venture intended to speed disciplined expansion in China and bring in a local partner to help scale stores and operations, which should support long‑term growth in a key market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New U.S. partner incentives announced — Starbucks outlined a package including weekly pay, broader tipping on mobile/card orders, and a performance-based bonus program (up to $1,200/year) aimed at improving service, retention and sales; benefits to revenue are possible but outcome is uncertain. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational intent vs. cost — Management frames the moves as part of its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround to fix service and sales trends; investors must balance potential revenue upside from better in-store execution against the program’s roughly $500M scale and execution risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term stock reaction muted or negative — Despite the announcements, the shares showed little upside and in some reports slipped, suggesting the market is focused on near-term margin pressure, recent EPS misses, and the need for proof the programs lift sales. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and margin concerns — Analysts/commentary warn expanded tipping and bonus schemes could backfire or compress margins if service improvements don’t translate to sustained higher sales per store; ongoing union activity adds another execution variable. Article Title

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $90.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.50 and a 12 month high of $104.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.96.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 28.66%. The business had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

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.