Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives “Buy” Rating from Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a $325.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CRM. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

Salesforce stock opened at $244.02 on Friday. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $236.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,692 shares of company stock valued at $21,006,957. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second 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. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.