Salesforce’s (CRM) Sell Rating Reaffirmed at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their sell rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $247.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $297.63 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.