Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $251.12 and last traded at $249.58. Approximately 4,395,428 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 7,431,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.01.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Northland Securities lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.34.
Get Our Latest Analysis on CRM
Salesforce Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $256.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.22.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $566,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,997,665,957.86. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,827 shares of company stock valued at $16,342,398. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Salesforce by 8.0% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward lifted its stake in Salesforce by 71.6% in the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Salesforce by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,802,000 after buying an additional 15,782 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 43.0% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,133,000 after acquiring an additional 31,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Salesforce by 121.9% during the first quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $95,222,000 after buying an additional 195,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Salesforce Company Profile
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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.
Further Reading
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