Salesforce (CRM) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is projected to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 26th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.60 per share and revenue of $10.04 billion for the quarter. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 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 business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Salesforce to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.60. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

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.