Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $325.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $268.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities reiterated an accumulate rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $307.73.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $270.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.66. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $262.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.64, a P/E/G 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. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,633 shares of company stock valued at $18,100,349. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,396 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 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.