Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.4%

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shot up 0.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $256.33 and last traded at $255.09. 583,654 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 6,878,565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $244.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.95.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 424,152 shares of company stock worth $113,945,011. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.