Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price shot up 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $239.26 and last traded at $238.4650. 12,470,397 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 61% from the average session volume of 7,724,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.42.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $242.92 and its 200 day moving average is $253.21. The stock has a market cap of $227.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.12, for a total value of $565,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,233,709.52. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. This trade represents a 49.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 186,534 shares of company stock worth $44,406,374 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 260.0% in the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.