Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Increased to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CRM. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CRM opened at $342.12 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.66. The firm has a market cap of $327.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of 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 a total of 147,991 shares of company stock valued at $43,333,238 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 54,761 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $16,494,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter worth $233,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 180.6% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,520 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 20.8% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 21.4% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,954 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. 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.