Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $261.97 and last traded at $258.1020. Approximately 6,250,471 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 7,829,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.68.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $245.97 and its 200-day moving average is $251.76. The company has a market capitalization of $241.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.Salesforce’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total value of $31,598.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,085,096,889. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,309,155.22. The trade was a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 175,284 shares of company stock worth $41,648,819 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers National Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 1,179 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 142.8% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 3,420 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 11,416 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.1% during the third quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 560,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $132,698,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Salesforce by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 22,914 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.