Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $332.41 and last traded at $328.73. Approximately 1,787,450 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,048,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $336.56 and its 200-day moving average is $293.49. The firm has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the period. 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.