Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.7%

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $280.56 and last traded at $277.41. 7,624,347 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the average session volume of 4,686,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $268.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.89.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 60,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,323,891.36. 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 216 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 922,149 shares of company stock worth $267,062,598 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 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.