Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded by Northland Capmk to “Strong-Buy”

Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Phillip Securities restated an accumulate rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reiterated a buy rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $287.75 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $278.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.75, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.53 and a 200-day moving average of $264.52.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its position in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, DSC Advisors L.P. increased its position in Salesforce by 3.1% during the second quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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.