Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Downgraded to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $288.10 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued 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 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 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.