Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $268.87 and last traded at $268.67. 1,876,824 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,561,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.34.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.2%

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $268.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $246.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.