Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.8%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 1.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $260.85 and last traded at $260.78. Approximately 2,457,573 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 6,925,593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $252.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.32.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total value of $4,530,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 484,152 shares of company stock worth $131,779,561. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Salesforce

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.