Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) to Issue $0.40 Quarterly Dividend

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the CRM provider on Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th.

Salesforce has a payout ratio of 14.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.38 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 19.1%.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $256.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.55 and a 200-day moving average of $267.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.19, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,376 shares of company stock valued at $15,878,005 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.