Salesforce Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 57,320 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 23% compared to the average daily volume of 46,563 call options.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $265.03. The company had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,790,605. The company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $267.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $216.06 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total value of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,219,490. The trade was a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.