Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $311.29 and last traded at $310.11. 970,888 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,233,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $297.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.86.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 149,973 shares of company stock valued at $42,672,142 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.5% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 888 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth $3,894,000. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $1,280,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 34,632 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.