Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Northland Capmk

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Northland Capmk from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $280.83 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $272.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.51, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $258.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273 in the last 90 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 modified their holdings of the company. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSC Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.