Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $358.07 and last traded at $355.63. Approximately 1,584,337 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 6,386,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $354.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $322.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.47, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. 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’s 50-day moving average is $320.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.