Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading 2.1% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price rose 2.1% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $260.18 and last traded at $258.15. Approximately 2,939,999 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 6,905,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.85.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $323.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.7 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $259.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.20. The company has a market capitalization of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.