Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.84.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

CRM opened at $324.19 on Wednesday. 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 $310.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock worth $386,408,308 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.