Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given Hold Rating at Loop Capital

Loop Capital reissued their hold rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a $270.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $265.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $406,612.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,735.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $406,612.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $402,735.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $564,188,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.