Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 1% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $367.15 and last traded at $364.99. 1,752,091 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,393,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.38.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $346.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $309.97 and its 200-day moving average is $272.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.