Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 on April 24th

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 27th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the CRM provider on Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a 5.0% increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Salesforce has a payout ratio of 12.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $270.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.68. The firm has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Salesforce stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.