Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03), RTT News reports. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $331.43. 10,756,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,306,356. The business's fifty day moving average is $302.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $316.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $345.31.

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.

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