Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.54% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $266.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $254.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.67. The stock has a market cap of $258.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,154 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,357.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 130.7% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 187,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $48,096,000 after acquiring an additional 105,972 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Salesforce by 12.8% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,944 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.