Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $275.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CRM. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $259.45 on Monday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $271.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.94. The firm has a market cap of $248.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total value of $386,831.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.48, for a total value of $613,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,862,457 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,282,283.36. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,534 shares of company stock worth $10,028,795 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory raised its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,762 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 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.