Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded to Overweight at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $440.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CRM. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.24.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0 %

CRM stock opened at $354.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.64. The firm has a market cap of $339.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.27, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.