Starbucks Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 40,915 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 25,712 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total value of $236,251.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,963,558.65. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,687 shares of company stock worth $681,663 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $875,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 88,374 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,442,000 after acquiring an additional 23,589 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 94.5% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 94,260 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,938,000 after purchasing an additional 45,794 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Starbucks by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 518,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $43,655,000 after purchasing an additional 87,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth $1,232,650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Starbucks stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $108.55. 5,135,333 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,260,205. Starbucks has a fifty-two week low of $77.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.84.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 34.10% and a net margin of 5.17%.Starbucks’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. Analysts predict that Starbucks will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial cut Starbucks to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank downgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim started coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.92.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.