Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $254.50 and last traded at $253.98. Approximately 861,199 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 6,895,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $251.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Price 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 stock has a market capitalization of $247.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.84, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.90.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total value of $4,170,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,913,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,590,789,261.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total transaction of $1,061,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,494,155.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total transaction of $4,170,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,913,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,590,789,261.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 439,152 shares of company stock worth $118,115,911 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.