BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $305.00 to $385.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $6.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $325.26. The company had a trading volume of 7,093,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,319,677. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $310.95 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.64.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $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 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.