Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.3%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $249.16 and last traded at $248.72. Approximately 959,516 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,599,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $254.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.11. The firm has a market cap of $235.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares in the company, valued at $977,122.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. 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.