Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $340.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective upped by TD Cowen from $290.00 to $340.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.37.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CRM opened at $342.02 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,472 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.