Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy Sells 436 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

CRM traded up $2.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $334.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,351,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,399,249. 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 company has a market capitalization of $320.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $336.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.