Loop Capital Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lifted by Loop Capital from $270.00 to $340.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $325.26 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.61. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $310.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. The trade was a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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.