Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $268.00 at Piper Sandler

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target raised by Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $268.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $252.90 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.13. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.71, for a total value of $3,535,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,362,327 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,924,097.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.