Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.42 Per Share

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 27th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of 0.42 per share by the CRM provider on Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a 5.0% increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 12.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.0%.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

CRM stock traded down $3.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $277.88. The stock had a trading volume of 3,755,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,389,262. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $310.74. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $267.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,875 shares of company stock valued at $13,580,649 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Salesforce stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

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.