UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $275.00 to $360.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $342.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $342.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $294.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.60. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The company has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 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.