Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.7%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $280.56 and last traded at $277.41. 7,624,347 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the average session volume of 4,686,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. KeyCorp began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $263.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $297.70 and a 200-day moving average of $260.97.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,323,891.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,323,891.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock valued at $184,794,698. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $401,215,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.