Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $330.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $330.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $6.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $325.65. 2,797,563 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,299,279. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. 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 firm has a market cap of $311.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.73, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $284.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors 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.