Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $336.60 and last traded at $334.62. Approximately 1,515,588 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 3,419,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.39.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $313.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.93, a PEG ratio of 3.21 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.81.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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). 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 company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,181,807.88. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 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.