Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $315.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $300.85 and its 200 day moving average is $270.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.