Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives “Hold” Rating from Loop Capital

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Loop Capital in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $270.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Loop Capital’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on CRM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.55.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

CRM stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.60 and a 200-day moving average of $267.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.