Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $272.29 and last traded at $272.03. 1,731,516 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,589,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.14.
The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.34.
Salesforce Stock Up 2.7%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $262.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $266.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.42.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Transactions at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $1,120,391.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,312.44. This trade represents a 41.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.
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