Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $400.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective upped by Needham & Company LLC from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

CRM stock opened at $317.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $304.16 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $335.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.07. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.