Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 1.4% - Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $260.00 and last traded at $258.54. Approximately 1,757,481 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,804,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $360.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $282.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

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.