Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Overweight” Rating at Piper Sandler

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by research analysts at Piper Sandler in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $405.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.45% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $336.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $321.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,830 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,041,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 165.2% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 11,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,954,000 after buying an additional 7,153 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 904 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 228 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.