Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $377.63.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of CRM opened at $347.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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 firm’s revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by 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.