Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 4.3% Following Dividend Announcement

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price rose 4.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $253.77 and last traded at $253.62. Approximately 2,875,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 6,859,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.15.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $259.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.20. 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 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 company had revenue of $9.13 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,964,707,719.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.42, for a total value of $4,581,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,981,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,964,707,719.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 22.1% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 41.4% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 92,811 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $18,820,000 after acquiring an additional 27,174 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in Salesforce by 15.0% during the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 26,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Stansberry Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 18.4% during the third quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 16,456 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,337,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 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.