Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price fell 0.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $273.32 and last traded at $274.15. 712,215 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,599,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Argus upped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $266.75 billion, a PE ratio of 65.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.97 and a 200-day moving average of $264.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $2,852,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,230,643.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 595,793 shares of company stock worth $175,070,968 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.