Macquarie Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by research analysts at Macquarie in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $370.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock. Macquarie’s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $336.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $322.03 and a 200 day moving average of $278.26. 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 has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.