Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1,987.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 728,623 shares of the coffee company’s stock after buying an additional 693,722 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Starbucks worth $61,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,246,316,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 146.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $553,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596,014 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Starbucks by 22.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,691,772 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,243,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,699,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,277,792 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,789,226.08. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $159,373.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SBUX. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. William Blair raised shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Starbucks from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.81.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DBS upgraded Starbucks, which can support near-term buying interest from momentum and growth-focused investors. Starbucks Upgraded at Dbs Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage arguing Starbucks is regaining its “third‑place” hospitality edge highlights a path to same-store sales and margin recovery if execution continues. “The Power of Hospitality”: Starbucks Stock Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses arguing SBUX may be an undervalued dividend/long‑term play under new leadership (ex‑Chipotle CEO hire) can attract income and value buyers. Is Starbucks Stock an Undervalued Dividend Stock to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly recaps note Starbucks posted a revenue beat but missed EPS expectations — mixed fundamentals that explain volatile trading as investors weigh top‑line strength vs. margin pressure. Q4 Earnings Highlights: Starbucks Vs The Rest
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest updates show reported spikes but contain zero/NaN figures — the data appears erroneous; unclear shorting pressure based on the current reports. (No external link)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Brian Niccol’s comment that the chain “ran like a manufacturing facility” was framed as an admission of past execution problems — this highlights operational issues that could press margins while turnaround work continues. Starbucks CEO admits the chain ‘ran like a manufacturing facility’
• Negative Sentiment: Critical pieces and analyst commentary questioning profitability/execution (“Improving, but where are the bucks?”) amplify investor caution about margin recovery. Starbucks: Improving, But Where Are The Bucks?
• Negative Sentiment: Labor and activist investor noise continues — a proxy challenge and resumed bargaining with Workers United raise execution and cost risks that investors dislike. Starbucks challenged by labor-friendly activist investors

Starbucks Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $91.98 on Wednesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $104.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.66. The firm has a market cap of $104.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.02, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 3.63%.The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.