Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.9%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $279.94 and last traded at $279.66. Approximately 903,366 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,473,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $277.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wedbush increased their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $293.29 and a 200-day moving average of $267.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.59, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total value of $4,131,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,487,837,972.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 2,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $893,934.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,687,877.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.45, for a total transaction of $4,131,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,662,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,487,837,972.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 619,993 shares of company stock worth $181,048,574. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 27,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,368,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,394,959 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $420,134,000 after acquiring an additional 144,469 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 3,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,855 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 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.