Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $375.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $425.00 to $375.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $268.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $308.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % 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, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.