Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Lowered to $400.00 at Bank of America

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $440.00 to $400.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $294.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.89.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.