Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $331.99 and last traded at $330.61. 1,044,162 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,279,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price target (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.89.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $302.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,622.79. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 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.