Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Reiterated by JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $342.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Argus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of CRM opened at $271.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.97. The stock has a market cap of $263.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $190.57 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 22,143 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,669,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 19.3% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 7,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 106.2% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,144 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18,911.4% during the 1st quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,059,000 after purchasing an additional 49,737 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.