Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $300.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $266.80 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day moving average is $266.18.

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, 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,891 shares of company stock valued at $16,306,944 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.