Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $380.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CRM opened at $361.99 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $346.06 billion, a PE ratio of 59.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $308.26 and its 200 day moving average is $272.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during 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.