Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Increases Dividend to $0.42 Per Share

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 27th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of 0.42 per share by the CRM provider on Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a 5.0% increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 12.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $7.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $270.04. 4,972,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,642,995. The business's fifty day moving average price is $309.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.57. The company has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Salesforce stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,582,000 at the end of the most recent 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.