Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 2.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $344.22 and last traded at $343.82. 2,472,110 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 6,400,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. 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 50-day simple moving average of $323.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,189,056 shares of company stock valued at $405,093,170 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.