Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $360.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $275.00 to $360.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.66.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $339.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.98. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $324.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 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.