Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a hold rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.3 %

CRM stock opened at $265.87 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $253.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.00. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.82, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Salesforce by 12.8% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,944 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 7,863 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $638,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,677 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.