Scotiabank Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $345.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price trimmed by Scotiabank from $400.00 to $345.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $279.44 on Monday. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $315.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total transaction of $5,616,791.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,210.16. This trade represents a 90.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,609 shares of company stock valued at $24,920,821. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $4,321,000. Hedge funds and other 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.