Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.1% Higher

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares shot up 0.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $307.98 and last traded at $306.50. Approximately 885,591 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,759,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Argus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.75.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $82,310,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.61, for a total value of $3,774,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,896,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,496,414,327.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.