Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price shot up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $354.77 and last traded at $351.38. 1,797,806 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,386,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $350.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.44. The stock has a market cap of $333.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.