Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Lowered to $400.00 at Bank of America

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target decreased by Bank of America from $440.00 to $400.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.21% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.55.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $293.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.