Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $340.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price boosted by Loop Capital from $270.00 to $340.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $5.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $325.71. 4,418,877 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,307,285. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $311.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.73, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 represents a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.