Salesforce’s (CRM) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $405.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $337.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,391,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $321.11 and its 200 day moving average is $277.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during 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.