Analysts Set Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Price Target at $377.63

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, thirty have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $377.63.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Salesforce Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of CRM opened at $347.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a PE ratio of 57.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in 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.