Macquarie Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Macquarie in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $320.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Macquarie’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.65% from the stock’s current price.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $281.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $313.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.49. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $270.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,256 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,357. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.