Salesforce’s (CRM) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Macquarie

Macquarie reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $370.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of CRM opened at $343.65 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $323.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.01. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,189,056 shares of company stock worth $405,093,170. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28.0% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $463,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $15,894,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.