Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Cut to $320.00 by Analysts at Macquarie

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective reduced by Macquarie from $370.00 to $320.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Macquarie currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $294.80 on Thursday. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $330.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.89. The firm has a market cap of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm 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 business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is 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.