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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on SBUX shares. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.33.

Starbucks Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:SBUX traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $113.00. 9,182,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,946,240. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $113.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.76 and its 200-day moving average is $95.49.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.71%.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Starbucks by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 552,169 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $53,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth $278,000. Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 15,152 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its stake in Starbucks by 9.5% in the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 189,020 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $18,428,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ERn Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 2.9% during the third quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.