Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report)’s stock price shot up 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $261.43 and last traded at $261.25. 1,169,557 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,609,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.32.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.
Salesforce Stock Performance
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 company has a market capitalization of $254.64 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $248.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.27.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.
Insider Transactions at Salesforce
In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total value of $1,069,194.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total transaction of $1,069,194.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 202,136 shares of company stock valued at $52,228,109. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Salesforce
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
About Salesforce
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.