Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1% Higher

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $276.90 and last traded at $275.83. 990,573 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,627,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp began coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $295.97 and a 200 day moving average of $264.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.05, for a total transaction of $4,275,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,656,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,892,690,118.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.