UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $275.00 to $360.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $342.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a PE ratio of 59.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $294.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.66.

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. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% 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.