Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 1.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $301.98 and last traded at $299.18. Approximately 2,624,581 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 6,622,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.