Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 86.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,970 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 42,952 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Starbucks in the second quarter valued at $1,246,316,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,049,192 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $553,201,000 after buying an additional 3,596,014 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,757,954 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $1,169,011,000 after buying an additional 1,286,451 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Starbucks by 68.0% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,027,814 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $277,439,000 after buying an additional 1,225,447 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,578,977 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $511,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,056 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 1,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was 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 $8,411,077.60. This trade represents a 1.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large drop in short interest — Short interest fell ~14.8% in February to about 41.24M shares (3.6% of float) with a 6.4 days‑to‑cover, reducing short‑squeeze risk and removing a layer of downside pressure.
• Positive Sentiment: New rewards program gaining traction — Early reports say the revamped Starbucks Rewards rollout is taking hold, which could lift transactions and loyalty metrics if sustained. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Nashville supply‑chain hub — Opening a North American supply‑chain/corporate hub in Nashville aims to tighten logistics, lower costs and improve inventory flow, supporting margin recovery over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. transactions improving — Zacks flagged the first rise in U.S. transactions in eight quarters, a sign of recovering customer traffic and revenue momentum. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New/updated analyst coverage — DA Davidson initiated coverage (neutral) and other brokers have mixed stances; overall consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target near $104. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research downgrade — Wolfe cut SBUX to Peer Perform from Outperform, highlighting that Starbucks is early in a multi‑year turnaround and faces high execution risk, which can cap multiple expansion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CEO Brady Brewer (and an EVP) reported small share sales (totaling several thousand shares); modest in size but often interpreted as a near‑term negative signal by some investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Brand/PR risk — Public criticism over sugar content in some seasonal drinks introduces reputational and potential regulatory risk for marketing/product formulation. Read More.

Starbucks Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $100.77 on Wednesday. Starbucks Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $104.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.03. The company has a market capitalization of $114.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBUX. Bank of America set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $116.00 price target on shares of Starbucks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.22.

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.