Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, thirty have given a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $365.62.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie lowered their price target on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction 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 represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $270.94 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.60. The company has a market cap of $260.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

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.