Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Plans $0.42 Quarterly Dividend

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 5th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of 0.416 per share by the CRM provider on Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 13.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.7%.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $3.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $266.81. The stock had a trading volume of 8,638,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,607,927. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $227.77 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's 50-day moving average price is $266.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.30. The company has a market cap of $255.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.88, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $931,430.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock valued at $11,024,802 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.34.

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.

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