Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Increased to $330.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $330.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CRM. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 12th. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $301.91.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $256.91 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. 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 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.71, for a total transaction of $3,535,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,362,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,924,097.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Souders Financial Advisors increased its position in Salesforce by 435.0% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,428,934 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $881,579,000 after purchasing an additional 292,912 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $336,000. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.6% during the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. 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.