Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 2.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $344.22 and last traded at $343.82. 2,472,110 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 6,400,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $328.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $322.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,624.16. The trade was a 87.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.