Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $375.00 to $400.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $328.80 and last traded at $326.67. 3,787,103 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 4,624,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.93.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Michael S. Ryan Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 13,326 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 142,741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $47,723,000 after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,541 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,812,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $335.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.53. The company has a market cap of $312.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.