Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 2.2% - Time to Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 2.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $329.57 and last traded at $326.90. 1,881,796 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 4,813,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $337.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.08.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total transaction of $1,213,044.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,229,213.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 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.