Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $257.33 and last traded at $256.49. Approximately 1,091,352 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,810,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.58 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total value of $1,137,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,363,398.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,512,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,589,786,616.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total transaction of $1,137,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,363,398.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 339,242 shares of company stock worth $90,405,271. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Anglin Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,595 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in Salesforce by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 73,177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $19,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 8,226 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.