Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price lifted by Oppenheimer from $280.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $252.90 on Thursday. Salesforce has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.71, for a total value of $3,535,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,362,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,924,097.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, Director Craig Conway sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.64, for a total transaction of $1,437,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,732.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.71, for a total transaction of $3,535,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,362,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,924,097.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,964 shares of company stock valued at $27,956,647 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.