Salesforce Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 75,813 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 74% compared to the typical daily volume of 43,481 call options.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total value of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at $442,723.86. This represents a 77.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.24.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $351.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.44.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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.