Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded by Guggenheim to Neutral Rating

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.97.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $236.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $226.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.44. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,988,422,000 after buying an additional 1,683,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.