Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Announces Earnings Results

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The CRM provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.38), Zacks reports. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $307.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,139,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,340,430. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $331.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $374.47.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.