Wedbush Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by Wedbush from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.8 %

Salesforce stock opened at $330.01 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by 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.