Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 on October 8th

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the CRM provider on Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 14.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.1%.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $254.57 on Monday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.91.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce 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 transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.55.

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.