Salesforce’s (CRM) “Market Outperform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $450.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.2 %

CRM stock opened at $343.65 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm 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%. Salesforce’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 business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during 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.