Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Research Coverage Started at Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $311.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $281.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $270.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $313.51 and its 200-day moving average is $309.49. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,256 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,357. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.