Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 2.1% After Dividend Announcement

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 2.1% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $260.18 and last traded at $258.15. Approximately 2,939,999 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 6,905,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.85.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $259.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’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 owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 547,387 shares of company stock worth $151,174,635. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first 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, GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.