Salesforce Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 75,813 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 74% compared to the average daily volume of 43,481 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.24.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $6.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $351.01. The stock had a trading volume of 6,888,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,405,638. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $318.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.62. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $335.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.