Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $425.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $400.00 to $425.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $361.99 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $346.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $308.26 and its 200-day moving average is $272.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm 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 payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.