Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives “Market Outperform” Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a $342.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reissued a strong-buy rating and issued a $325.00 target price (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $302.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $252.90 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.44. The stock has a market cap of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,912,044.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total value of $1,104,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,912,044.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,591 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 10,873 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,861,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,262 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,963,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.