Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $263.36 and last traded at $261.00. Approximately 571,797 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 6,728,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $243.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $249.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.25.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total value of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,242 shares of company stock valued at $78,057,091 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first 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. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.