Citigroup Raises Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $368.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $290.00 to $368.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $329.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.61. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $315.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 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.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 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 added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.