Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $331.99 and last traded at $330.61. 1,044,162 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,279,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.89.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $300.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $315.47 billion, a PE ratio of 57.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 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.