Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.6%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $265.81 and last traded at $265.15. Approximately 1,261,701 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,900,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.07 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 7.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,936,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total value of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,110,216.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 484,152 shares of company stock valued at $131,779,561. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 232.1% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 687,231 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $176,687,000 after buying an additional 480,314 shares in the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 108.3% in the second quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,645 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $16,363,000 after purchasing an additional 33,093 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 10,005 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 14,057 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.