Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $333.44 and last traded at $330.96. 725,261 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,714,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $317.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $331.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares during the period. 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.