Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $385.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $305.00 to $385.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE CRM opened at $325.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $286.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $310.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,122.20. The trade was a 44.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.