Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $277.13 and last traded at $275.00. Approximately 775,544 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 5,515,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $293.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.99. The stock has a market cap of $269.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.39, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total transaction of $4,386,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,521,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,953,994,573.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock valued at $182,212,898 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $2,762,331,000. 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.