Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $349.08.

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $270.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $269.86 and a 200 day moving average of $295.19. The company has a market cap of $258.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock valued at $6,996,762. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,173,564,000. 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.