The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.50.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $367.94 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.99, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $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.