Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $294.54 and last traded at $294.50. Approximately 630,911 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 6,260,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CRM shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $282.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.22, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,586,572.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,303 shares of company stock worth $42,024,385. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $602,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 212,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $63,968,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.4% in the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 1,966 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 96.6% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.