Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.9%

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were up 0.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $263.36 and last traded at $261.00. Approximately 571,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 6,728,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $236.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $248.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,487,837,972.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 279,242 shares of company stock valued at $73,931,941. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $982,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,578 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 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.