Starbucks Corporation $SBUX Shares Sold by Covea Finance

Covea Finance trimmed its stake in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 40.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,994 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 56,000 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $7,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 125.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 286 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong holiday demand — multiple outlets report that roughly 1 in 5 Americans will receive a Starbucks gift card this season, supporting near-term sales and customer reactivation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Holiday market action — Benzinga highlights Starbucks among consumer names that closed higher during holiday trading, reflecting investor appetite for seasonal beneficiaries. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Labor update — CNBC coverage (YouTube) reports that management says baristas at a majority of striking locations want to return to work, which could reduce near-term operating disruptions if sustained. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Key 2026 watch points — The Motley Fool outlines three factors investors should watch (customer engagement, China strategy including a potential local partner, and execution of the turnaround). Useful roadmap for longer-term thesis but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options trade idea — Investor’s Business Daily presents a short-term bear call spread trade idea that income-focused traders might use; highlights that earnings (late Jan/early Feb) are a near-term event risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears unreliable — a December short-interest entry shows zeros/NaN, indicating no meaningful short-covering signal from that data point. Treat as noise until clearer filings appear. (internal short-interest report)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/positioning critique — A UK Finance/Yahoo video argues Dutch Bros is a top pick for 2026 while saying Starbucks lags, underscoring investor concerns about growth differentiation and brand momentum. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sell-side / retail selling mention — a TalkMarkets post documents selling Starbucks in a personal dividend-income portfolio, a reminder some investors are trimming exposure amid the turnaround uncertainty. Read More.

Starbucks Stock Performance

SBUX stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.94 billion, a PE ratio of 51.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.84 and a 200-day moving average of $87.63. Starbucks Corporation has a one year low of $75.50 and a one year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.41 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio is 151.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 price objective on Starbucks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 target price on shares of Starbucks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Starbucks from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.44.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 11,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 53,096 shares in the company, valued at $4,513,160. This represents a 28.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starbucks Company 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.