Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, thirty-two have issued a buy recommendation and five have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $350.56.

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $275.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.34 and a 200-day moving average of $307.58.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,051 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,714. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Old Port Advisors grew its position in Salesforce by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 868 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,483 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,441 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 14,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,817,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Salesforce by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 15,659 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,235,000 after buying an additional 7,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.