Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $272.99 and last traded at $272.19. Approximately 959,974 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,644,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Wedbush upped their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Nine equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $297.70 and a 200-day moving average of $260.97. The company has a market capitalization of $262.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,857,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,857,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,323,891.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in Salesforce by 8.7% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Salesforce by 42.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $455,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 21.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 860,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $182,797,000 after acquiring an additional 151,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.