Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.3% Higher - Here's Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $290.55 and last traded at $288.84. 569,505 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,461,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $282.73 billion, a PE ratio of 52.48, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.55.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,283,087. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. 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.