Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.5%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded up 0.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $277.13 and last traded at $275.00. 775,544 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 5,515,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $269.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.99.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock worth $182,212,898. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in 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 last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $893,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.