Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03), RTT News reports. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $331.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,756,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,306,356. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $316.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $302.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.49. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Loop Capital raised their price target on Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $345.31.

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.