Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $378.86.

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

CRM opened at $332.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $332.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.