Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $360.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $275.00 to $360.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $342.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.53. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The company has a market cap of $326.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.