Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $350.00 to $360.00. The stock had previously closed at $270.37, but opened at $279.39. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce shares last traded at $270.83, with a volume of 2,285,469 shares traded.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 616,589 shares of company stock worth $181,071,306. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.7% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $296.91 and a 200 day moving average of $263.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.