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

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 121,967 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 122% compared to the average daily volume of 55,039 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. The trade was a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBUX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.0 %

Starbucks stock opened at $113.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $128.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.49. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $71.55 and a 52 week high of $113.40.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Starbucks will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 78.71%.

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.