Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.4% Higher
Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) rose 2.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $283.80 and last traded at $283.56. Approximately 1,305,984 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 5,367,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.80.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.
Salesforce Stock Performance
The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $278.34 billion, a PE ratio of 67.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $290.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.73.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’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 earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $1,163,106.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,057,970.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $1,163,106.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,057,970.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 618,393 shares of company stock valued at $179,935,154. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Salesforce by 49.8% during the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 5,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 13,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 293,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $59,418,000 after buying an additional 8,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,205,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.
Further Reading
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