Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) PT Raised to $236.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $234.00 to $236.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Salesforce from $316.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $302.00.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

CRM stock opened at $252.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management increased its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after buying an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,178,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.