Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded up 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $256.23 and last traded at $255.93. 1,265,192 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,799,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.76.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $287.42 and a 200-day moving average of $310.55. The company has a market capitalization of $245.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.28 per share, with a total value of $998,760.96. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.