Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 2.8%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $255.45 and last traded at $254.66. Approximately 1,663,294 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,821,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.6 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $253.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $246.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 367,777 shares of company stock valued at $98,383,930 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.