Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.9%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price rose 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $263.36 and last traded at $261.00. Approximately 571,797 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 6,728,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $243.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $249.61 and a 200 day moving average of $275.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,251,239.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total value of $245,767.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 294,242 shares of company stock valued at $78,057,091 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 293,434 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $75,440,000 after buying an additional 35,483 shares in the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 3,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 164,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $42,295,000 after buying an additional 7,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 45,529 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,706,000 after buying an additional 12,984 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.