Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Reiterated by JMP Securities

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $342.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 23.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CRM. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $277.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.05, 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $298.35 and a 200-day moving average of $260.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $11,074,012. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $11,074,012. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,539,948.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.