Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Up 1.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $320.00 to $350.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $296.07 and last traded at $295.47. Approximately 1,039,013 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,309,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.46.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total transaction of $277,676.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,581 shares of company stock valued at $22,616,017 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 2,798 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Salesforce by 9.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,704 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management raised its position in Salesforce by 2.8% during the first quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 1,857 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $271.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.78. The firm has a market cap of $285.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

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.