Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Neutral” Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their neutral rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Argus upped their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $306.26.

Salesforce Trading Down 7.3 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $272.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $298.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.01, for a total transaction of $4,110,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,761,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,770,697,095.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.01, for a total transaction of $4,110,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,761,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,770,697,095.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 897,375 shares of company stock worth $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.