Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.6%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shot up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $265.81 and last traded at $265.15. 1,261,701 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,900,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $256.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 7.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 484,152 shares of company stock worth $131,779,561 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 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.