Salesforce’s (CRM) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $325.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 target price (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $270.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $269.86 and a 200-day moving average of $295.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,954.06. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 979 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $248,333.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,645,492.42. This trade represents a 13.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,284 shares of company stock worth $6,996,762. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.