Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $342.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $306.26.

Salesforce Trading Down 7.3 %

CRM opened at $272.75 on Monday. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,539,948.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,539,948.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock worth $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,104,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Salesforce by 42.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 21.3% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 860,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $182,797,000 after purchasing an additional 151,440 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.