Starbucks Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 40,915 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average daily volume of 25,712 call options.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:SBUX traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $108.55. The stock had a trading volume of 5,135,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,260,205. The stock has a market cap of $123.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.84. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $77.99 and a 12-month high of $110.51.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $9.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. Starbucks had a net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total transaction of $236,251.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,135 shares in the company, valued at $7,963,558.65. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,687 shares of company stock valued at $681,663. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Starbucks by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,410,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,634,523,000 after acquiring an additional 971,773 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Starbucks by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $7,135,228,000 after acquiring an additional 7,007,268 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 2nd quarter worth $8,504,509,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,869,056 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,031,053,000 after purchasing an additional 327,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,373,084 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $2,212,153,000 after purchasing an additional 225,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBUX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Melius Research set a $110.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank cut shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.92.

About Starbucks

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.