Erste Group Bank Reaffirms “Hold” Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Erste Group Bank restated their hold rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Phillip Securities reissued an accumulate rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $249.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $253.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $241.83 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $243.69 per share, for a total transaction of $499,808.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,165.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,892 shares of company stock valued at $15,269,897. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its position in Salesforce by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.