Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) were down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $332.41 and last traded at $334.33. Approximately 3,019,020 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 6,379,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.74.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $378.86.
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Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %
The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.02. The company has a market cap of $319.95 billion, a PE ratio of 54.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 presently 26.32%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Salesforce
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Salesforce
(
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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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