Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20, Briefing.com reports. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $3.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $253.24. 3,182,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,591,550. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.54. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.99, for a total transaction of $660,772.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,318,674.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.99, for a total value of $660,772.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,318,674.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $874,748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.