Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $270.95 and last traded at $270.74. 1,078,977 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,632,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Down 6.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $245.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $304.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % 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 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.