Salesforce’s (CRM) Buy Rating Reiterated at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $300.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $252.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.49, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $254.70 and its 200-day moving average is $270.73. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $673,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at $27,829,184.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total transaction of $673,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at $27,829,184.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,164 shares of company stock worth $23,760,225. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.