Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 3% – Should You Buy?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded up 3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $359.97 and last traded at $359.24. 2,168,485 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,391,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $348.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.24.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $316.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.07 billion, a PE ratio of 58.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value 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 approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock valued at $40,983,349. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. State Street Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.