Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $340.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective raised by Loop Capital from $270.00 to $340.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $325.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.64. The company has a market cap of $310.95 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.