Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was up 0.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $355.49 and last traded at $354.53. Approximately 1,463,509 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,390,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $351.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.86.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $332.63 billion, a PE ratio of 58.31, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $311.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.32.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,673.1% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 6,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,068 shares in the last quarter. Bremer Bank National Association lifted its position in Salesforce by 12.0% during the second quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 1,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 386.9% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 6,945 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.