Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0% on Analyst Upgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was up 0% on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $375.00 to $400.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as high as $328.80 and last traded at $325.01. Approximately 985,090 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 4,031,614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.93.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.0 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

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.