Loop Capital Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $330.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from $360.00 to $330.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.57% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.84.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $4.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $324.91. 1,751,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,103,894. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week 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 50 day simple moving average of $335.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.52.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,668,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,190,000 after purchasing an additional 8,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.