Traders Purchase High Volume of Salesforce Call Options (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 55,531 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average volume of 42,522 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $336.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.60. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.