Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Truist Financial from $315.00 to $380.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.72% from the stock’s current price.

CRM has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.66.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $343.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $298.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.44. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $328.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 59.2% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,934,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $2,038,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 90.3% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.