Truist Financial Reaffirms Buy Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $315.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $300.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CRM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reiterated a buy rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $266.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.44. The company has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,193,087.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 1,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total value of $406,612.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,735.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Salesforce by 130.7% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 187,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after buying an additional 105,972 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,944 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 7,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $638,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.