Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $350.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $367.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.87.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $276.93 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.55, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. The trade was a 4.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Salesforce by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,066 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 1,647 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.