JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $310.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $316.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $301.91.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE CRM opened at $256.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.19. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.99, for a total value of $660,772.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,318,674.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.