Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.8%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $272.10 and last traded at $270.76. 972,922 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,552,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $264.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.16, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.82, for a total transaction of $4,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,581,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,768,866.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,230,643.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.82, for a total value of $4,287,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,581,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,768,866.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 629,993 shares of company stock worth $184,255,474. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.