Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Erste Group Bank

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was upgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.36.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $323.05. 1,893,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,290,732. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $288.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.96. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This trade represents a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock valued at $40,146,206. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XN LP raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. 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.