Salesforce (CRM) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Tuesday

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is set to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, December 3rd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.43 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Salesforce to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $329.99 on Friday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.61.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The trade was a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.89.

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.