Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $330.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $326.65 and last traded at $326.65, with a volume of 57759 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $321.95.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRM. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.2 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.83. The firm has a market cap of $326.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.98, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

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.