Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $350.00 to $400.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CRM. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Piper Sandler downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.80.

Salesforce Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of CRM opened at $341.74 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $279.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $326.70 billion, a PE ratio of 59.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $211.76 and a fifty-two week high of $344.88.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,716 shares in the company, valued at $977,122.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,122.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.