Scotiabank Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $400.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective decreased by Scotiabank from $440.00 to $400.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $329.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.58. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.