Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 4.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 4.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $366.32 and last traded at $363.31. Approximately 5,243,574 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 5,828,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $328.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $338.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 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.