Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $340.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $310.00 to $340.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on CRM. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.19.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE CRM opened at $325.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.72. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $311.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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 $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 136,117 shares of company stock worth $39,085,562 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.