Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $310.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $345.00 to $310.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $294.80 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $330.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $306.89.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.