Investors Purchase Large Volume of Starbucks Call Options (NASDAQ:SBUX)

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

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $277,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,933,582.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $651,738 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 1,578.9% in the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 319 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Starbucks from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Starbucks from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of Starbucks stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,210,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,520,849. Starbucks has a one year low of $72.67 and a one year high of $108.12. The firm has a market cap of $82.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.84.

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

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.81%.

About Starbucks

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.