Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Cut to $367.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $375.00 to $367.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $294.80 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $330.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nvest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in 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.