Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was up 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $311.29 and last traded at $310.11. Approximately 970,888 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,233,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $297.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,585,731.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.62, for a total transaction of $352,268.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,585,731.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,973 shares of company stock worth $42,672,142. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. XN LP grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $2,178,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.