Starbucks Executives Cash In Stock

Eight Starbucks Corp. executives filed plans to sell 848,808 shares - easily the most since the gourmet coffee-shop chain went public four years ago - as its stock traded near record highs.

The sales by the company’s two top officers would be their biggest ever, Bloomberg Business News reported Tuesday. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz filed to sell 300,000 shares and President and Chief Operating Officer Orin Smith said he plans to sell 169,950.

The proposed sales came as shares of the fast-growing coffee-shop chain jumped 91 percent in three months to a record 29-1/4 on April 25. The shares Tuesday closed at $27.12-1/2, down 87.5 cents.