Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Neutral” Rating at Macquarie

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by Macquarie in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $370.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock. Macquarie’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CRM. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $336.23 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $322.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during 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.