Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.8% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price shot up 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $288.91 and last traded at $286.58. 745,341 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,336,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Nine research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $281.46 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,781 shares of company stock valued at $23,696,593 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during 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.