Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. Sells 9,170 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

CRM traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $276.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,219,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,569,047. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.68 and its 200-day moving average is $265.79. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.68, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.03.

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.