Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $425.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $343.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $323.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.01. The stock has a market cap of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total transaction of $5,228,464.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,898,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,087,239.95. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,189,056 shares of company stock worth $405,093,170. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.