Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $332.41 and last traded at $328.73. Approximately 1,787,450 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,048,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.