Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the CRM provider on Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th.

Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 14.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Salesforce to earn $8.42 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 1.0 %

Shares of CRM traded down $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,626,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,589,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $236.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.11. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,622.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.