Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $293.34 and last traded at $291.24. 545,732 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,418,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $266.65 and its 200-day moving average is $263.77. The firm has a market cap of $283.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,429,961. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% 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.