Analysts Set Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Target Price at $377.63

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, thirty-one have issued a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $375.53.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth 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 period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $309.54 on Monday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $333.34 and its 200-day moving average is $305.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.