Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, DA Davidson Analyst Says

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective boosted by DA Davidson from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CRM. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.31.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $331.77 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.17 billion, a PE ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 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.