Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 2.8%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded up 2.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $261.47 and last traded at $259.61. 1,762,291 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,497,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $256.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $253.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP grew its position in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by 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.