Loop Capital Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Loop Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $270.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America restated a buy rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Phillip Securities restated an accumulate rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $266.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.44. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 stock was 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 owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its position in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services grew its position in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.