Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price shot up 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $331.75 and last traded at $330.20. 1,941,486 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 6,266,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $338.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.96. The company has a market cap of $312.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.66, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 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.