Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $310.61.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $273.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $265.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.20, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $190.57 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 596,379 shares of company stock worth $175,587,970. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,019,669 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $307,104,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Compound Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,828,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 2,104 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.