Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.5%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $277.13 and last traded at $275.00. 775,544 shares were traded during 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 research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

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's 50 day moving average price is $294.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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 year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $4,324,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,551,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,906,801,157.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 619,993 shares of company stock worth $181,241,324. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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