Salesforce’s (CRM) “Market Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

JMP Securities restated their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $450.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.31.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $331.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $317.17 billion, a PE ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.