Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires 209,477 Shares of Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 14,446.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,927 shares of the coffee company’s stock after acquiring an additional 209,477 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $18,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Starbucks from a “sector perform” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.93.

Key Stories Impacting Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks Korea is closing all locations early on June 22 for staff training after a controversial “Tank Day” promotion triggered backlash, boycotts, and an investigation. That news raises concern about near-term sales and brand damage. Starbucks Korea Shuts Stores Early After Boycott Hits Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also reported the same South Korea fallout, reinforcing investor worries that the controversy could weigh on sentiment and distract management. Starbucks Korea to give staff history training after backlash over marketing campaign
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage from Fast Company and other outlets suggests the backlash is severe enough to keep the issue in the spotlight, increasing reputational risk for SBUX.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction. The sale was small and routine, so it is unlikely to be a major stock-moving signal by itself.
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive, with one analysis saying Starbucks is seeing stronger traffic growth thanks to better service, faster operations, and improved customer experience initiatives, supporting the turnaround story.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks included Starbucks on its list of top income stocks, indicating that some analysts still view the shares favorably despite the recent noise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate reports note rising competition from 7 Brew, which could pressure Starbucks over time, but this is more of a longer-term competitive concern than an immediate catalyst.

Starbucks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $101.59 on Tuesday. Starbucks Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.99 and a fifty-two week high of $108.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.83.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 187.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.81, for a total transaction of $233,621.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,548,198.79. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 8,687 shares of company stock valued at $863,707 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.