United Asset Strategies Inc. Lowers Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

United Asset Strategies Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,299 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 34,613 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $8,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SBUX. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 457.4% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Starbucks

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keurig Dr Pepper and Nestlé will expand distribution of Starbucks-branded K-Cup pods across the U.S. and Canada, which should boost packaged?goods revenue and broaden retail reach. Keurig, Nestlé extend Starbucks K-Cup deal
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks will invest $100M to open a Southeast corporate/support office in Nashville, expected to create ~2,000 jobs over five years — a long?term operational commitment that supports U.S. growth capacity. Starbucks to invest $100 million in Nashville
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts (including UBS commentary) are penciling in improving North American comparable?sales and the potential for a Q2 upside, supporting expectations for a stronger reported quarter. Starbucks Likely to Deliver North American Comparable Sales Beat, UBS Says
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel raised its SBUX price target to $115 and kept a Buy rating, signaling some analyst conviction on upside from current levels. Stifel raises SBUX price target
• Positive Sentiment: Company affirmed its quarterly dividend and rolled out new protein-focused MUSH overnight oats in most stores — incremental product and yield supports that can help sentiment. Assessing Starbucks valuation as turnaround momentum draws attention
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares under a pre?arranged Rule 10b5?1 plan; the trade is small (0.7% reduction) and typically viewed as routine. SEC Form 4 disclosure
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed but leans constructive (consensus “Moderate Buy”); expectations remain split heading into earnings. Analyst consensus: Moderate Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks is cutting tech roles as the new CTO reshapes the organization — this could create near?term charges and execution risk for digital initiatives. Starbucks cuts tech jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Relocation friction: reports of employee resistance to moving from Seattle to the new Nashville hub have spurred culture and retention concerns that could weigh on near?term operations. Lefty Starbucks office workers refuse to move from Seattle
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have been volatile and dipped as investors await the April 28 earnings print; SBUX remains sensitive given a recent EPS miss and relatively high valuation, so the quarter is a key catalyst. Stock dips ahead of Q2 earnings

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $99.52 on Thursday. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.50 and a 12 month high of $104.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.17. The stock has a market cap of $113.38 billion, a PE ratio of 82.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.95.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 28.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 204.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SBUX shares. Zacks Research raised Starbucks from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. New Street Research set a $90.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Starbucks from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,378,800. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $242,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,958 shares of company stock worth $667,464 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.