JMP Securities Reiterates “Market Outperform” Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a $450.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.31.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $331.77 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $317.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’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 value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $15,894,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1,639.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 661 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 196,584 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $53,807,000 after purchasing an additional 53,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 43,812 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,992,000 after buying an additional 3,021 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.