Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $294.38 and last traded at $292.38. 1,037,389 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,323,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $286.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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 $281.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $269.73 and its 200-day moving average is $263.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,781 shares of company stock worth $23,696,593. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.