Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $375.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $425.00 to $375.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 25.60% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.53.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $8.75 on Thursday, reaching $298.58. The stock had a trading volume of 6,585,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,445,978. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $285.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $330.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.97.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % 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 worth $381,283,706 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 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.