Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Starbucks Call Options (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 93,303 call options on the company. This is an increase of 43% compared to the typical volume of 65,074 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of a number of research reports. DZ Bank lowered Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, insider Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.03, for a total value of $305,597.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,153 shares in the company, valued at $7,912,906.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $651,738. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Orca Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,547,411 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $148,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,471 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 15.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 56,939 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 7,619 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $794,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starbucks Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $72.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.53. Starbucks has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $108.12.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The coffee company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 11.38%. Starbucks’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.81%.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.