Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 3.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $347.72 and last traded at $345.42. 4,131,185 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 5,120,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $338.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.25, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $337.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.