Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 4.3% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 4.3% during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $253.77 and last traded at $253.62. 2,875,809 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 6,859,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.15.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.