Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given Buy Rating at Bank of America

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $325.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 34.14% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE CRM traded down $3.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.28. 2,658,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,582,762. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.11. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $234.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director Craig Conway sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.64, for a total value of $1,437,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,732.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.40, for a total value of $673,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,829,184.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.64, for a total value of $1,437,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,732.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,692 shares of company stock worth $21,006,957 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $874,748,000. 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.