Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $290.55 and last traded at $288.84. 569,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,461,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $261.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.61. The company has a market cap of $282.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.95, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 193 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $334,000. American Trust acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $265,000. Beacon Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $371,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.