Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 0% After Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares shot up 0% on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $375.00 to $400.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $328.80 and last traded at $325.01. 985,090 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 4,031,614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.93.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $312.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $335.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.