Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $306.00.

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its position in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $265.87 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.00. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.