Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.8%

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) were up 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $272.10 and last traded at $270.76. Approximately 972,922 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,552,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $294.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.72. The company has a market cap of $263.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce 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 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 $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 629,993 shares of company stock worth $184,255,474. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 96,793 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,152,000 after purchasing an additional 44,586 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,158 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $283,000. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.