Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Lowered to $300.00 at Loop Capital

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target trimmed by Loop Capital from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $294.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.89. The company has a market cap of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.