Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 0.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $360.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $279.70 and last traded at $270.59. 2,376,459 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 5,651,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.37.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total transaction of $4,064,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,827,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,475,435,977.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,903,561.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.94, for a total value of $4,064,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,827,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,475,435,977.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 616,589 shares of company stock valued at $181,071,306 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $296.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.28. The stock has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a PE ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

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.