Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report)’s share price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $338.65 and last traded at $335.06. 866,515 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,091,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

View Our Latest Research Report on CRM

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $336.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.01. The company has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

(Get Free Report)

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.

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