Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Cut to $400.00 by Analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CRM. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $294.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.89.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.