Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $375.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $425.00 to $375.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $297.63 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $329.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.21. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.