Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $400.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective decreased by Canaccord Genuity Group from $415.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE CRM opened at $294.80 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a PE ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $1,449,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 17,904 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,986,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $1,894,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.