Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.6% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $332.41 and last traded at $328.73. Approximately 1,787,450 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,048,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $317.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.92.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock valued at $402,223,235. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 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.