Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $307.98 and last traded at $306.50. 885,591 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,759,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $293.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.75. The stock has a market cap of $292.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total value of $2,585,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,478,857.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at $32,439,040.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 898,507 shares of company stock valued at $255,293,063 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,626,413 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $22,005,454,000 after buying an additional 1,240,821 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,653,307 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,644,718,000 after acquiring an additional 143,962 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.