Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $400.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $317.83 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $335.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.16 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 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.