Salesforce (CRM) Set to Announce Earnings on Tuesday

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is scheduled to release its earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, December 3rd. Analysts expect Salesforce to post earnings of $2.43 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect Salesforce to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $329.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $315.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.61.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.89.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total value of $884,081.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,622.79. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.