Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Short Interest Up 24.2% in March

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,970,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the February 28th total of 9,640,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CRM traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $272.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,381,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,648,514. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $307.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.42.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,644.60. The trade was a 5.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.