Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 1.2% Higher - What's Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded up 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $349.50 and last traded at $347.63. 1,123,930 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,072,712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $343.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $338.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.75. The company has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.