Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $425.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $400.00 to $425.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.86.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE CRM opened at $361.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.25 billion, a PE ratio of 59.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $3,672,000. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.