Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $329.57 and last traded at $326.90. 1,881,796 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 4,813,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.56. The firm has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total transaction of $1,213,044.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,229,213.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. 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.