Salesforce, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the CRM provider on Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 14.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.1%.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $354.31 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $339.07 billion, a PE ratio of 58.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $317.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.64. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CRM shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.24.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.