Northland Securities Upgrades Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) to Outperform

Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $400.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $270.00.

CRM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $287.75 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $278.83 billion, a PE ratio of 51.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its position in Salesforce by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. XN LP increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth $2,178,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors raised its position in Salesforce by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during 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.