Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,411,412 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 616,402 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.21% of Starbucks worth $204,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Starbucks by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 181,133 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $15,324,000 after purchasing an additional 18,393 shares during the last quarter. Arkos Global Advisors increased its holdings in Starbucks by 142.4% in the third quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 6,568 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 3,858 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 80.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,105,164 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $433,923,000 after buying an additional 2,277,792 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 337.3% during the 3rd quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 14,867 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 11,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 124,813 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $10,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,877 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

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

Starbucks Stock Down 1.0%

SBUX opened at $99.15 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $112.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.93. Starbucks Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $104.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.32.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Starbucks in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,601,700. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 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 $242,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,226.08. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,729 shares of company stock valued at $460,974. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.