Sundeep G. Reddy Sells 2,425 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2 %

Salesforce stock opened at $276.19 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $267.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $296.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 137,928 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $41,541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,591 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,190,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $274,000. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 128.5% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 24,973 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,521,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.