Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $291.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE CRM opened at $264.00 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.01. The stock has a market cap of $255.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.32, for a total value of $4,039,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,437,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,620,907.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.32, for a total value of $4,039,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,437,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,620,907.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,964 shares of company stock worth $35,273,059 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 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.