Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.3%
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $303.50 and last traded at $302.93. 733,498 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,615,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $301.91.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.97.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Stock Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.79, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $297.40 and a 200-day moving average of $256.46.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.24, for a total transaction of $3,963,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,836,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,656,068,503.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.24, for a total value of $3,963,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,836,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,068,503.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 2,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $893,934.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,687,877.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 888,175 shares of company stock worth $255,782,096. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Pointe Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 370.0% during the second quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 72.3% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 29,481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 12,371 shares in the last quarter. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $341,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. 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.
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