Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.3%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $255.78 and last traded at $254.56. 857,566 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 6,639,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $251.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $246.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $247.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.73, for a total value of $4,270,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,557,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,575,447,716.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 215,042 shares of company stock worth $56,019,545 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.