Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.7% Higher

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $277.06 and last traded at $274.84. 2,353,522 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 5,652,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $268.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $298.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 907,149 shares of company stock worth $262,952,448. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $401,215,000. 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.