Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) were up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $267.08 and last traded at $267.18. 2,041,056 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 6,599,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.92.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during 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 buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. 80.43% of the stock is 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.