Analysts Set Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) PT at $292.79

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $292.79.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $253.97 on Friday. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $256.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.68, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total value of $4,170,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,913,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,590,789,261.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total value of $1,061,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,494,155.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.06, for a total value of $4,170,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,913,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,590,789,261.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 439,152 shares of company stock valued at $118,115,911 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 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.