Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded up 0.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $329.52 and last traded at $326.62. 1,590,078 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,904,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

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 stock has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 24.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 23,264 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,635 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 403.4% in the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 736,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $189,344,000 after purchasing an additional 102,358 shares during the period. Finally, Unisphere Establishment boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.9% during the second quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 559,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $143,719,000 after purchasing an additional 68,250 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.