Short Interest in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Rises By 24.2%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,970,000 shares, an increase of 24.2% from the February 28th total of 9,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $272.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.50. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.42.

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.