Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sells $117,824.77 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of CRM traded down $3.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $284.37. 3,225,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,364,500. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.55 billion, a PE ratio of 51.15, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.24.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 44.5% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 815 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 39,088 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,773,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,147 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 200.6% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

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.