Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 2,277,792 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,105,164 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 2,277,792 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.45% of Starbucks worth $433,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transce3nd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 270.3% in the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $26,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Starbucks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.22.

Starbucks Stock Down 1.0%

SBUX opened at $99.15 on Monday. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $104.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.28 and a 200-day moving average of $88.32. The stock has a market cap of $112.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Turnaround momentum: analysts and some prominent investors are calling Starbucks a recovery story after recent operational changes and a more generous rewards program that appears to be boosting demand. Josh Brown names SBUX a top stock
• Positive Sentiment: Customer loyalty actions: Starbucks revamped its rewards program to drive frequency and AUV recovery — a potential tailwind for same‑store sales if sustained. Rewards program update
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and governance items: the company will webcast its March 25 annual meeting (forum for investor questions), and the CEO made small disclosed stock sales (minor ownership reduction). These are informational but not immediate operational catalysts. Annual meeting webcast SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy‑advisor warnings: two proxy advisory firms flagged that Starbucks may be under‑estimating the financial and reputational risks from persistent labor disputes — a governance red flag that can pressure the stock and complicate investor support. Reuters: proxy firms warn Starbucks Seeking Alpha: proxy firms warn
• Negative Sentiment: Union restarts and contract push: Starbucks Workers United submitted a detailed contract proposal seeking a $17 minimum start wage and 4% annual raises and is seeking to reopen bargaining — this raises the prospect of higher labor costs and renewed store‑level disruption. Yahoo Finance: union contract proposal CNBC: details of baristas’ asks
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst caution: coverage notes the union trying to restart talks and some firms moving to more cautious stances — near‑term investor anxiety over labor negotiations is weighing on the stock. TipRanks: union talks pressure stock WSJ: union seeks to reopen negotiations
• Negative Sentiment: PR/governance noise: founder Howard Schultz’s relocation and related publicity about state tax policy add incremental governance/PR distraction during sensitive labor negotiations. Financial Post: Schultz relocation coverage

Insider Activity

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $159,373.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,605 shares in the company, valued at $8,411,077.60. This trade represents a 1.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 59,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,729 shares of company stock worth $460,974 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.