Loop Capital Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price hoisted by Loop Capital from $270.00 to $340.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $5.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $325.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,418,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,307,285. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.38 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 85,853 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $23,499,000 after buying an additional 15,675 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 564,917 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $154,623,000 after acquiring an additional 161,373 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4,854.2% during the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 43,597 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,933,000 after acquiring an additional 42,717 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 41,759 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,539 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.