Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were up 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $313.70 and last traded at $311.21. Approximately 2,769,022 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 6,189,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.47.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $294.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $331.46 and its 200-day moving average is $306.97.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LM Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 17,378 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $134,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $425,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 11,511 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.