Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded to “Outperform” by Northland Securities

Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Northland Securities currently has $400.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $270.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $287.65 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.74, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $564,188,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.