Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Northland Capmk

Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $279.48 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.75. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $270.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total value of $1,061,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,494,155.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,185 shares of company stock valued at $18,773,713 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 28,142 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,703,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.0% in the third quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 28.6% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP raised its stake in Salesforce by 5.0% in the third quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 6,076 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its stake in Salesforce by 7,453.1% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 120,850 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,078,000 after purchasing an additional 119,250 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.