Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Earns Outperform Rating from Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $385.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $330.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CRM. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $342.02 on Thursday. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.60. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 in the last three months. 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 company. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 15.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 5.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $52,912,000 after acquiring an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 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.