Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-nine have assigned a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $378.86.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $330.66 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $316.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.02. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.