Brokerages Set Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) PT at $378.86

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $378.86.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 63.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,820 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $569,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 320,341 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $82,360,000 after buying an additional 10,235 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 2,512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,722 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,985,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Salesforce stock opened at $334.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $330.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $319.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.