Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Buy” Rating at Stifel Nicolaus
Stifel Nicolaus reissued their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a $350.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.
Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CRM. Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $304.97.
View Our Latest Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $304.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $187.31 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.65. The firm has a market cap of $295.60 billion, a PE ratio of 72.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.
Insider Activity
In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,074,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 898,175 shares of company stock valued at $257,617,846 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Salesforce
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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