Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $273.32 and last traded at $274.15. 712,215 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,599,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $266.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $2,852,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,230,643.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 595,793 shares of company stock worth $175,070,968. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 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.